A Stranger Digiworld
by The TurquoiseCow
Summary: A routine trip to the Digiworld goes haywire. Suddenly, Hikari and Tailmon find themselves in a Digiworld much different from the one they know. Will they get home? Epilogue posted 082401.
1. Lost and Separated

Chapter 1: Lost and Separated  
  
Yagami Hikari opened her dazed eyes and looked around, uncertain of where she was. This place was... well it was weird.  
  
It was a bit like the Digital World. The trees looked quite a bit like the trees in the digiworld; tall, palm-like structures. The air even felt the same, though she wasn't quite sure how that was possible. But something else was different.  
  
Tailmon was by her side, as she usually was. Hikari looked down at her, questions evident in her eyes.   
  
"Are we in the digiworld?" the human girl asked.   
  
"I don't know," Tailmon admitted. "It seems the same, but not quite."  
  
"I know what you mean," Hikari agreed. She frowned. "How did we even get here?"   
  
"Last thing I remember, we were preparing to go to the Digital world," the feline recalled. "Maybe we made it through and no one else did."   
  
Hikari looked around. "I don't see the TV," she noticed. She reached for her pocket and took out her D-terminal. "Maybe I can e-mail someone and ask."  
  
"Maybe," Tailmon agreed. She looked around the area that they were in and shuddered slightly.   
  
***  
"Digiport open!" Miyako called enthusiastically, aiming her digivice at the computer. There was a familiar flash of white light that faded after a few moments.  
  
There was a pause, as she, Daisuke, Takeru, Iori, and Taichi looked around.   
  
"What happened?" Taichi asked, confused.   
  
"We're still here," Iori observed. "How come?"   
  
"I- I don't know," Miyako stammered. She looked around, shocked to discover everyone was still there. Poromon was still sitting beside the computer, looking confused.   
  
Daisuke was looking around. "Hey - where'd Hikari go?" he asked.  
  
Taichi glanced around the room. "I don't know," he admitted. "Hikari?"   
  
"And Tailmon," Chibimon added.   
  
"Maybe she's in the hall," Takeru suggested, heading out of the room, Patamon riding on his hat.  
  
The small group had agreed to meet in Taichi's apartment. His father was still at work, and his mother was visiting his grandmother for the day, so there was no risk of them being missed while they took the trip to the Digital World. They'd planned to meet Ken there, since he found it easier to go from his home computer rather than trekking first to the Yagami house.  
  
"Do you know what's wrong, Miyako?" Iori asked, concerned. Upamon was still bouncing at his feet, eager to get started. Miyako was busily examining the Digital World screen on the monitor.   
  
"I'm not sure," she admitted. She pulled up the map of the Digital World that Koushiro had developed while they were still fighting the DigiKaiser. "I'm not reading Hikari any where on the map."   
  
"That doesn't sound good," Iori agreed.   
  
"Then where is she?" Taichi asked, slightly worried.   
  
"Maybe - maybe she disintegrated," Daisuke theorized, beginning to panic slightly.   
  
"I really doubt that -" Iori began to point out logically.   
  
"Maybe she got sucked into a parallel dimension and she'll never get out!" Daisuke continued, ignoring the younger boy.   
  
"Daisuke, I..." interrupted Iori.   
  
"What if she's lost, and cold and afraid?" Daisuke wondered.   
  
"Daisuke, Hikari can take care of herself," Taichi reminded him sensibly.   
  
"Yeah, but that doesn't stop me from worrying," Daisuke returned.   
  
Taichi and Iori just sighed slightly. They knew that Daisuke was only worried for his friend, but as usual, he was forgetting the situation as his concern overcame his ability to reason.   
  
"No sign of her," Takeru reported as he returned from his search of the apartment.   
  
"She must be in the Digital World then," Taichi decided.   
  
"But then why didn't the rest of us get through?" Takeru wondered.  
  
"Miyako?" Iori asked. "Any ideas?"  
  
"Not a clue," Miyako replied. She was still staring at the computer, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Maybe Koushiro will have a clue," she suggested, turning to the group and shrugging slightly.   
  
"Good idea," Taichi replied, heading for the phone.  
  
"Maybe we should just try going to the Digital World again," Daisuke suggested.   
  
"I don't know if that's safe, Daisuke," Miyako replied. "There could be a virus in the computer. Or in the digiport. Until we know for sure, we can't risk trying to go through again."   
  
"But what about Hikari?" Takeru asked. "We don't know where she is."   
  
"I guess we'll just have to trust she can take care of herself," Iori spoke up. "There isn't really much else we can do."  
  
No one said much of anything else for the next few minutes. Then Daisuke thought of something. "Oh! I'd better email Ken. He was supposed to meet us there." He took out his D-terminal and began to type.   
  
"Could we get some food while we're waiting? Could we? Could we, Iori?" Upamon asked, bouncing up and down even more.   
  
"You just ate," Iori reminded him.   
  
"Yeah, but I could eat more," Upamon replied.   
  
"I could use a snack, too," Takeru agreed. Patamon, still perched on his hat, nodded his agreement.   
  
"But we had some food before we opened the digiport," Iori protested.   
  
"That doesn't mean anything," Takeru replied. "I'm a growing boy. I need some food."   
  
"Still growing?" Miyako asked. "You're gonna be as tall as Tokyo Tower by the time you stop."   
  
Daisuke looked up from his email for the moment. He couldn't resist a chuckle. "Be hard to get in doors if you're that tall, Takeru," he pointed out.   
  
"Yeah, but I'll do great in basketball," the tall blond replied cheerfully, undaunted by his friends' good-natured jeers.  
  
Taichi re-entered the bedroom. "Koushiro says that we shouldn't try to open the digiport from this computer. There could be a virus or something."   
  
"Right," Miyako agreed.   
  
"Ken says we can all come over and try it on his computer," Daisuke reported. "His mom is out shopping, and she'll probably be gone for a long time."   
  
"Yeah, but it'll take a long time to get to Ken's ," Taichi reminded them. "He lives pretty far. And it's already getting late."   
  
"Maybe we should just wait until tomorrow," Iori suggested. "It is Saturday. We'll be able to get going early."   
  
"Yeah, I guess we'll have to," Taichi agreed. He frowned slightly. "I really wish I could find Hikari tonight, though."  
  
The others agreed, sympathetically. "If it helps, you can tell your parents she's staying with me tonight," Miyako offered. "That way at least they won't worry."   
  
"Thanks Miyako," Taichi replied. "That helps a lot."  
  
"Well, I guess I'd better get home then," Iori excused himself. "My mom will get worried if I'm late for dinner."   
  
"Dinner?" Upamon asked, excited.   
  
"We can all meet at Koushiro's in the morning," Taichi reported. "Afterwards, he'll come by and check out the computer for himself."  
  
"Good idea," Takeru agreed. "See you tomorrow."  
  
"We'll find Hikari then," Patamon added optimistically.   
  
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Taichi," Miyako stated. "Bright and early."   
  
"Bright and early," Poromon echoed. "We'd better get to sleep early then."   
  
"I really wish we didn't have to wait until tomorrow to look for Hikari," Daisuke commented unsurprisingly. "I hope she's okay."   
  
"So do I," Taichi agreed.   
  
"Hey, if we get up early, does that mean we can have a big breakfast?" Chibimon asked, bouncing eagerly on Daisuke's head.   
  
"Maybe, maybe," Daisuke replied. "Depends on if Mom's cooking."   
  
Taichi shook his head slightly as he saw the group out the door. Strange bunch he hung out with, he thought to himself. And that was minus the digimon. Not that he could be considered normal himself.   
  
He sat down on the bottom bunk of his bed and stared out the window. "Hikari. I hope you're okay," he whispered, hoping that, in some way, his sister could hear him.  
  
***  
  
"Well, it's sent," Hikari reported, closing her D-terminal. "Now we just have to see if anyone gets back to us."   
  
"Right," Tailmon agreed. "But that could take a while. In the meantime, it's getting pretty late." She pointed a paw in the direction of the sky. "Looks like the sun's going down."  
  
Hikari nodded her agreement. "Let's start walking," she suggested. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to find a place to spend the night."  
  
***  
  
"Wow Mom, thanks for the dinner!" Daisuke said as cheerfully as he could manage. He found it hard to be cheerful while Hikari was still missing, but he knew he had to keep up the act.   
  
"You sure ate enough," Jun remarked. "You'd better watch out or you're going to gain weight."   
  
Daisuke shrugged, oblivious to his sister's taunts. "Yeah, well, I can't look any worse than you do," he shot back. This served to annoy the elder Motomiya sibling to the point of chasing Daisuke, who beat a hasty retreat to his room, where he locked the door and shut it tight.   
  
"Whew," he commented to Chibimon as he leaned on the closed door to catch his breath. "Good thing I'm in soccer. Teaches you how to run."   
  
"Did you bring me anything?" the little blue digimon asked. Daisuke opened his pockets and emptied a few rice balls and some meat on to the bed for his companion to devour.   
  
"Is there any word from Hikari?" Daisuke wondered, going to his D-terminal. Sadly, there were no new email messages. "I hope she's okay."   
  
"What if they run into a bad digimon?" Chibimon wondered. "I hope Tailmon will be okay." He momentarily paused shoveling the food into his mouth to frown thoughtfully.  
  
"They should be," Daisuke assured his partner with false cheerfulness. "Let's just get some sleep early so we can get up in the morning and look for her."   
  
"Good plan. I'm so stuffed I'm ready to head to dreamland," Chibimon agreed, moving over and making room for Daisuke to sleep.   
  
***  
  
"The others must be really worried," Hikari said thoughtfully as she and Tailmon trekked along. "I wonder why I made it through the port and they didn't."   
  
"I'm still not sure we're in Digiworld," Tailmon confessed. "It feels different."   
  
"Yeah," Hikari mused. "Hey, I know what's weird. We haven't come across anyone else."   
  
"That's right!" her partner agreed. "Usually by this time we've run into someone. Tentomon, Gabumon, Agumon, or a big evil guy. But no one. Not even a lowly little Yukimibotamon."  
  
"And there aren't any TVs, either," Hikari continued. "I wonder where everyone is."   
  
"Maybe there isn't anyone," Tailmon considered. "Maybe we're not in Digiworld. Maybe we're somewhere else."   
  
"But where?" Hikari questioned.   
  
Before the feline digimon could continue her theories, a voice called from the darkness.   
  
"Hello?" it called. It sounded far away and strangely familiar.   
  
Tailmon recognized it immediately. "Could that be?" she asked.   
  
Hikari was a little more cautious. "Hello?" she asked. "Who's there?"   
  
Two eyes peered at them from the darkness. "Tailmon? Is that you? It couldn't be!"  
  
Author's notes:   
  
This is my absolute first Digimon fic, although I've read countless others. Feel free to flame, review, or insult as you wish. And if you have any theories as to what will or has happened to Hikari, feel free to guess! This idea was one I don't think I've seen before, so I figured I'd try. I hope you all enjoy it. More will come soon.   



	2. Help and Searching

Chapter 2: Help and Searching  
  
The eyes moved towards Hikari and Tailmon and a dark form around them became more visible. It was a short figure, not much larger than Tailmon herself, and its head appeared pointed.   
  
"Wizarmon!" Tailmon shouted cheerfully. "You're alive!"  
  
"Of course I'm alive," Wizarmon replied sensibly, confused slightly. "You're the one who's supposed to be dead."   
  
"D-dead?" Hikari stammered.   
  
Wizarmon looked strangely at Hikari for a moment. "Yes," he replied. "And you should be, too."   
  
"What? Why?"   
  
Wizarmon was about to answer when a loud screaming noise pierced the silence. "It isn't safe here," he told them. "Come. I'll take you to my home. We'll figure everything else out there."   
  
With that, he turned and disappeared back into the foliage. Hikari and Tailmon glanced at each other nervously. Should they accept his offer? They really knew nothing about this place. Why was Wizarmon alive? He should have been dead!  
  
There was another piercing shriek, and both decided that staying with a digimon that was supposed to be dead was better than ending up dead yourself. Together, they crashed into the foliage in Wizarmon's wake.  
  
***  
  
"No, Mom, it was kind of sudden," Taichi explained to his mother. "She'll hopefully - definitely be back tomorrow night."  
  
He slipped back into his bedroom, wiping his brow. 'Man, I thought I'd never get away,' he mumbled under his breath, relieved to be away from his mother's constant questions. He knew she worried about Hikari, but the woman's endless interrogation had gone on for a good fifteen minutes! He didn't think he'd be able to take much more.   
  
"I'm so sick of lying to them," he mumbled under his breath. "I wish I could tell my parents the truth." He leaned up against the window and stared out at the night. "Oh little sister, I hope you're okay," he whispered. "I can't help worrying either."   
  
***  
  
Wizarmon led Hikari and Tailmon through the woods for a good five minutes until he finally stopped. He sped along so fast the other two had a hard time keeping up with him. Finally, with Hikari and Tailmon panting hard from the run, he stopped near a cave.   
  
First the wizard glanced around, making sure that no one else was watching. Tailmon and Hikari also looked over their shoulders into the woods, although they weren't sure who they were watching for. They hadn't seen anyone except Wizarmon since they'd arrived. And the area appeared empty even now.   
  
Still, precaution appeared to be necessary, and so the pointy-hat digimon surveyed the area carefully before he entered the cave. Then, he crept inside, motioning for the girls to follow. Which they did, after looking around one last time.   
  
Outside, darkness had been approaching steadily. Inside, the cave was dim and dank. The two digimon and the human girl walked down a long corridor in single file. Wizarmon went first, of course, followed by Hikari, and then Tailmon, who insisted upon going last so she could protect Hikari. She would have liked to go first, but she didn't know the way, and so she settled for the rear.  
  
It became darker and darker. Soon it was too dark to see, and Wizarmon took off his pointed hat and reached inside. From the recesses of his cap, he found a small battery powered flashlight, which he removed and flipped on. Tailmon and Hikari could only stare in fascination and continue to follow him to the end of the cave.   
  
***  
  
"Do you think Hikari and Tailmon are alright?" Iori asked Upamon as he pulled his nightshirt over his head.   
  
"Probably," Upamon replied. His answer was slightly muffled by the sushi Iori had sneaked in for him from dinner. He was now devouring in hungrily.   
  
"I wonder what happened today," the boy thought aloud. "It was certainly strange."   
  
"Yeah," Upamon agreed between gulps. "I've never seen anything like it before."   
  
Iori sighed slightly and sat down on the bed. "Well, hopefully we'll find her tomorrow when we get to the Digiworld. If we can get to the Digiworld."  
  
"We will, Iori, don't worry," Upamon assured his partner.   
  
"I hope you're right, Upamon," Iori responded as he turned off the light and climbed under the covers. "Well, good night Upamon."   
  
"Good night, Iori," Upamon answered, settling down next to Iori.   
  
***  
  
At the end of the cave, there was a stone wall (as is at the end of most caves). Wizarmon reached forward with one hand and pushed slightly on the stone. A hidden panel was depressed and the stone began to slide out of the way. Behind was revealed another room.   
  
"Wow," Hikari commented. They passed through the hidden wall and it closed behind them.   
  
"I hope you'll forgive my humble abode," Wizarmon apologized as he reached for a light switch. "I've had to keep hidden, and it's rather difficult to get supplies. Especially considering there's hardly anyone to buy from."  
  
Hikari and Tailmon both stared around the room. It was rather humble, but not too bad. The walls were, obviously, stone, and he'd apparently managed to find a decent power source considering the light bulbs embedded in the (stone) ceiling. The room was small, but not cramped. In the opposite right corner was a simple wooden structure that appeared to be a bed. In the left corner there was a small table with a few rickety chairs lying around it. To the left of the door was a low footlocker which was apparently used to store food. And in the last corner was another, slightly more comfortable looking chair and a pile of thick books. Under Hikari's feet was a semi-dingy woven rug that served as a welcome mat.   
  
"What's happened here, Wizarmon?" Tailmon asked. "I thought you were always a traveler."   
  
"I was," Wizarmon agreed solemnly with a slight nod of the head. "Unfortunately, traveling isn't safe now. It's much better to remain hidden."   
  
"Why is that?" Hikari asked.   
  
Wizarmon walked past them into the eating area and motioned to the table. After eyeing the chairs a moment to see if they would hold her, Hikari sat down. Tailmon remained standing.   
  
"You have been gone a long time, I suppose. That would explain your ignorance. But you certainly seemed to be dead," the wizard commented, half to himself. He strolled back across the cave to the trunk and removed a few round fruits.   
  
"How exactly did we- um - die?" Tailmon questioned.  
  
Wizarmon looked at her as though she had two heads. "Why, the Kaiser had you executed, of course," he replied. He handed one of the fruits to Tailmon and the other to Hikari as he spoke.   
  
"The DigiKaiser?" Hikari and Tailmon asked in unison.  
  
"Ken? Had -," Hikari gulped. "Us - executed?"  
  
"He wouldn't do that!" Tailmon protested. "Well, maybe once he would, but right now he's changed. I know he is. He's good now."  
  
Hikari nodded her agreement. "And even then - I don't think he'd have us killed!"  
  
Wizarmon shook his head. "Good? The DigiKaiser? He's the complete opposite of good!"   
  
Tailmon and Hikari exchanged glances. "Now I know why this place seems different," Tailmon stated calmly. "It is different."   
  
***  
  
Patamon munched the remainder of Takeru's uneaten dinner as he watched his partner on the phone.   
  
"I'm really confused, too," Takeru told his friend.   
  
"I just don't understand what happened," Miyako was saying. "I really wish we didn't have to leave her - wherever she is - over night. All by herself." She hugged her knees as she spoke, already in her nightgown. Poromon sat by her side, looking up at her with worried eyes.   
  
"Well, she'll turn up eventually," Takeru stated, trying to infuse his voice with some optimism. "And Hikari can take care of herself. I'm sure she can. You just watch. Tomorrow we'll find her and she'll be just fine."   
  
Miyako was doubtful. "But why wouldn't she send an email?" she questioned, glancing at her useless D-Terminal. "She did the last time she got lost by herself."   
  
"Maybe she forgot," Takeru suggested, knowing that he was really pushing it now. "Or maybe - maybe she dropped it somewhere. Or maybe it's not working. The batteries are dead or something."   
  
Miyako snorted her disbelief.   
  
"Okay, maybe not," Takeru relented. "But we'll find her tomorrow. It will be easier to search for her while we're in the Digital World, right?"   
  
"Yeah, that's true," Miyako agreed. She sighed. "I guess I'd better get some sleep so we can get up in the morning and look for her. Thanks for helping me feel better, Takeru."   
  
"No problem Miyako," Takeru replied. "Good night. See you in the morning."   
  
"Bye Takeru," Miyako answered, hanging up the phone. Takeru hung up as well and turned to Patamon.   
  
"I'm worried, too," he confessed to his partner.   
  
Patamon merely nodded sympathetically. He was half asleep, stuffed with food now.   
  
Takeru chuckled. "Good idea," he agreed, laying down beside his partner. "I'm tired too." Within a few minutes he was asleep, just like the rest of his friends.  
  
Author's Notes: Okay, I know I left that sort of hanging. But don't worry. Wizarmon's explanation will be coming soon. Along with an explanation of where Hikari and Tailmon really are. Also, we'll find out what happens when the other Digidestined children go to the Digital World in the morning. Thanks to all those who reviewed the last part, it was really appreciated! The next chapter will be up soon.  
  
  



	3. Explanation of the Situation (by Wizarmo...

Chapter 3: Explanation of the Situation (by Wizarmon)  
  
Hikari frowned slightly. "Okay, I think we need to get our stories straight. Obviously, we're not from here, and this is a different Wizarmon."   
  
Tailmon nodded in agreement. "What do you think happened, Hikari? Did we go through time or something?"  
  
"I'm not sure," the girl answered. "Hopefully we'll figure that out after we've talked."   
  
Wizarmon looked slightly confused. "So you want to hear my story?" he asked.   
  
Hikari and Tailmon nodded. "Yes," Hikari replied.   
  
"You said you were a traveler. That much I recall being true in our world, too," Tailmon prompted. "Start from there. Around when we met."   
  
Wizarmon nodded. "I was always traveling from place to place, never really stopping. Until I met you, Tailmon. You took me in and made me feel better. When I offered to pay you back, you refused. You then told me you were waiting for someone. You weren't sure who, but you were waiting for someone."   
  
Tailmon nodded after glancing fondly at her partner. "That much is the same," she replied.   
  
Wizarmon continued. "Well, we both were in the employment of an evil digimon named Vamdemon." He paused and shuddered at the mention of the name. Hikari and Tailmon frowned as well. "At the time, we had no choice. You had found him during your searches for your partner, and had no where else to go. After a while, you became set on trying to please your new master, and forgot about your searching and waiting."  
  
Tailmon nodded. "Still the same," she reported, glancing at Hikari.   
  
"There was a group of children that Vamdemon was battling. He wanted to take over Earth as well as the Digital World. To make a long story short, we journeyed to Earth with Vamdemon and it was there that you were reminded of your search."  
  
" However, Vamdemon succeeded in finding Hikari at the same time you did. When you finally saw her, it was too late."   
  
He sighed slightly. "There was a showdown of sorts on top of a building. Vamdemon and the group of children fought. In the fight, Vamdemon tried to kill both of you. I tried to interfere, but I was too slow. Instead, you were both badly injured."   
  
Hikari and Tailmon gasped in shock.   
  
"You were able to recover, but it took a long time. The chosen children were forced to go into hiding in the basement of the building. I tried all I could to help heal you, but I'm afraid I wasn't much help. Both of you managed to recover enough to help finally defeat Vamdemon."  
  
The wizard digimon paused for a moment and shook his head in sadness. "You never quite fully gained your true powers. When your brother and the other chosen children returned to fight the Dark Masters, I went with them, in hopes that I could help. You two stayed behind in hopes you could regain your strength."  
  
"The fight against the Dark Masters was a hard one. They were able to defeat Piemon only after the two of you interfered and added what little strength you had to the battle. It was obvious you were needed, yet you could not help continuously. Your participation against all the Dark Masters was impossible. As it was, the final battle left you so weak neither of you could get out of bed for many days afterwards."  
  
"I guess we were really important, then, huh?" Tailmon mused.   
  
"Infinitely," Wizarmon replied before going on with his story. "One year ago, three new chosen children arrived to counter a new threat. The DigiKaiser has taken control of the Digital World. Together, these three new children, along with Takeru, came to help fight. The elder chosen children attempted to help, but their Digimon were useless against the Kaiser's evil technology."   
  
"Against your parents' and brother's wishes, the two of you entered the Digital World. You had recovered much strength, but were still weak. When I saw you were still alive, my heart leapt with hope. But I had to face facts. You wouldn't be much help."  
  
Hikari and Tailmon both had wide eyes as they hung on Wizarmon's every word.  
  
"Sadly, without your strength added to the fight, the four chosen were unable to make much of a dent in the Kaiser's defenses. He barely knew they were here." Wizarmon paused for a moment and gathered his composure. "When you finally were able to join the fight, you managed to gain his attention and defeat and free a substantial portion of his armies. However, the Kaiser's curiosity in you was strong, and he had you kidnapped."  
  
"After subjecting both of you to endless tests and analyses and tortures, I'm sure, he found you to be useless. As a result you were taken to a remote dessert and left to die. The others tried to save you, but they found no sign of you."   
  
"After your disappearance, the remaining chosen resolved to fight even harder. But their efforts, still, were ultimately useless. The Kaiser destroyed all portals between this world and yours. If you were still alive, you had no means of returning. And the Chosen had no way of getting in. That is how I have lived. I am one of the few remaining who is free from the Kaiser's power. And I live in constant fear."   
  
With that final sentence, Wizarmon sat down on the rickety bed, sighing as though the entire recollection had left him physically exhausted.   
  
Hikari and Tailmon had no choice but to be perfectly stunned.   
  
"That-that's not how it is in our timeline at all," Hikari reported.   
  
Tailmon nodded in agreement. "In our timeline, you were killed, Wizarmon. When you attempted to save us from Vamdemon, you were destroyed."  
  
Hikari nodded. "We were able to defeat the Dark Masters, and the three new Chosen did join in the fight against the DigiKaiser," she collaborated. "But we were able to defeat him with the help of Wormmon."   
  
"Wormmon?" Wizarmon repeated blankly. "I've never heard of Wormmon."   
  
"Wormmon is Ken - the Kaiser's Digimon. He's a chosen child as well. But after his brother's death, he was persuaded by an evil force to become - well, evil. Wormmon stuck by him, but he feared for Ken's safety and helped us to defeat him in the end."  
  
"And now Ken helps us to fight the dark powers that once controlled him," Tailmon agreed.   
  
Wizarmon nodded. "Then those dark powers are still controlling him. But I have never heard of Wormmon. Do you think it's possible that the Kaiser had him deleted?"   
  
Hikari shook her head. "Perhaps he's kept hidden?" she suggested. "If his enemies knew about Wormmon, he would be at a disadvantage."   
  
"But the Kaiser has hardly any enemies left now," Wizarmon replied. "Why would he keep him a secret?"   
  
"Perhaps someone is keeping Wormmon a secret from Ken," Tailmon suggested.  
  
"Then we'll have to find Wormmon in order to get to Ken," Hikari declared.   
  
"Get to Ken?" Wizarmon repeated. "You mean you want to fight him?"  
  
Hikari shook her head. "We won't need to," she replied. "If we find Wormmon, he'll help us to convince Ken that there is good in him. If he's still alive, that is," she added.   
  
"So you're planning to stay awhile?"   
  
"We don't really have any way to get home," Tailmon reminded him. "We're not even sure how we got here."   
  
"Okay then," Wizarmon agreed. "That's our mission. It's a farfetched one that will probably fail, but it's our mission."   
  
"Try and think positive," Hikari told the wizard. "We'll never get anywhere if we don't think positive."   
  
Wizarmon nodded. "Well, first, I think we should think sleep," he informed them. "And perhaps a good dinner. Then we'll get started on our plan in the morning."   
  
***  
  
Miyako knocked on the door marked Izumi and waited patiently for Koushiro or once of his parents to respond. After a few moments, the door opened, and a pleasant looking woman with brown hair poked her head out.   
  
"Oh, hello Miyako," she said. "Koushiro has been waiting for you. Won't you come in?"   
  
Miyako bowed slightly. "Thank you, Mrs. Izumi," she replied pleasantly. "Is anyone else here?"   
  
"No, you're the first," she answered. "I understand you're having quite a study session today. Koushiro said you plan on heading for the library as soon as the others arrive, and you don't think you'll be back until late."   
  
"That's right," Miyako replied, feeling slightly bad about lying to Mrs. Izumi. "Lots of studying today. Koushiro's a great tutor."   
  
Mrs. Izumi nodded. "Oh Koushiro!" she called. A few moments later, the red-headed teen stuck his head into the living room.   
  
"Oh, hi Miyako, I'm glad you're here. I've got a few things I want to show you," he greeted. "Thanks for showing Miyako in, Mom," he added to his mother.   
  
"Certainly, Koushiro. I'll be leaving in about five minutes, so you'll have to open the door for them then, okay?" She smiled pleasantly. "It was nice seeing you, Miyako," she added to the girl as she left.   
  
"Enjoy the day, Mrs. Izumi," Miyako replied, following Koushiro into his bedroom. Once there, she let Poromon out of her bag, much to his delight.   
  
"I think I've made some progress on finding Hikari," Koushiro reported as soon as they were out of his mother's hearing range. "I analyzed the Digiport on my computer, and I didn't see any trouble with it. I'll have to check the Yagami's computer later and see if the trouble is there."   
  
Miyako nodded. "So if it is a virus, it isn't affecting the whole Digital World, just Taichi's computer," she concluded. Koushiro nodded. In the distance, the doorbell rang.   
  
"Could you get that, Miyako?" he asked. "I'm going to start up the computer and clean up some of this stuff." His bed was still unmade, and there were papers all over his desk.   
  
"Sure," Miyako replied, heading to the door. Mrs. Izumi had apparently left, as she saw no sign of her.   
  
"Hello Inoue-san," Ken Ichijoji stated with polite formalness when she opened the door. Miyako felt her heart leap slightly. Despite her getting over her crush on the boy, she couldn't suppress the feeling she felt whenever she saw him.   
  
"Hello Ken," she replied, trying to be casual. "Koushiro's in the bedroom. He wants to finish cleaning up before we go to the digital world."  
  
Ken nodded as he entered. "No one else is here yet?" he asked, looking around the room.   
  
"Nope," she replied cheerfully. "We're the first. Though I expect Taichi will be here early. He's probably quite worried about Hikari."   
  
Ken nodded again and sat down somewhat awkwardly on the couch. He opened the backpack he had brought and Minomon stuck his head out. "Hello Miyako," he said.   
  
"Hello Minomon," Miyako replied. "Welcome to Koushiro's apartment."   
  
Minomon was about to reply when the doorbell rang, saving her and Ken from numerous awkward moments. She turned and answered the door, finding Iori and Takeru (and Patamon and Upamon with them), who had come together that morning.  
  
"I was going to walk with you, Miyako," Iori explained. "But you were already gone when I left."   
  
"I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, Iori, Takeru," Miyako replied. She stepped aside to let them in. "But I was in a big hurry to see Koushiro this morning and see if he had any ideas."   
  
"Hello, Ken," Takeru greeted, noting the boy on the couch.  
  
Ken nodded and bowed slightly. "Takashi-san." He still addressed all but Daisuke by their last names, as he felt uncomfortable around them. Daisuke simply refused to be addressed formally, so Ken was forced to use his first name on him. Besides, he was developing a slight friendship with him, anyway.  
  
"Where is Koushiro, anyway?" Iori asked, mostly ignoring Ken. He still didn't appreciate his presence, though he'd learned to accept him since he'd been outvoted on including him.   
  
"In the bedroom," Ken answered.  
  
"He's got to clean some things up before we go," Miyako explained. "He asked us to wait out here."   
  
The doorbell rang again a few minutes later, and a semi-distraught Taichi entered. "Where's Koushiro?" he demanded, ignoring all greetings.   
  
"In the bedroom," Takeru replied, pointing in that direction. He knew better than to stand in the boy's way.  
  
"Am I late?" came a voice behind them. Daisuke entered, panting slightly, Chibimon in his arms. "I would have been here earlier, but my alarm didn't go off."   
  
"Didn't go off or you didn't hear it?" Takeru joked good-naturedly.   
  
"Very funny," Daisuke replied.  
  
"Don't worry, Daisuke," Miyako assured her friend. "You're not late yet. Koushiro is busy trying to clean his room up and defend himself against Taichi."   
  
"Hey!" the aforementioned Taichi shouted suddenly. "Are we ready to go or not?"   
  
Author's notes:  
  
Yes, yet another cliffhanger. Sorry, couldn't resist. In the next installment, they FINALLY go to the Digital World, Koushiro gets to work trying to analyze the Yagami's computer, and Hikari, Tailmon, and Wizarmon begin their search for Wormmon. Will they find him? Is he even still alive? And what will happen if they do? Will they defeat Ken (again)?  
  
/end annoying announcer guy mode Sorry 'bout that! Next chapter up soon. Thanks to all that have reviewed!   



	4. Searching For Hikari

Chapter 4: Searching for Hikari  
  
V-mon looked up at Daisuke with a shrug. "Okay, we're here," he reported. "What do we do now?"  
  
Daisuke shrugged. "I guess we look for Hikari-chan?" he asked.   
  
Miyako opened her D-terminal and stared at the screen. "I'm still not seeing her anywhere on the map," she reported with a concerned frown.   
  
"That might be a bit of a problem," Hawkmon commented in agreement.  
  
"Koushiro are you getting anything there?" Taichi shouted through the television he had come through a few moments ago.  
  
"Not reading anything different either," Koushiro reported. "I do see Agumon is in your general vicinity, however. Perhaps he can aid you in your search."   
  
Taichi nodded. "Thanks, Koushiro." He turned to the others. "I guess we find Agumon first, and then we get searching."   
  
With a bit more morale than before, the six children and five digimon set out to search for Agumon. They hadn't gone far when the little yellow dinosaur came bounding out of the woods.   
  
"Taichi!" he shouted in greeting.  
  
"Agumon!" Taichi called back, kneeling down to greet his partner. "Long time no see, man!"  
  
After the greeting, Taichi's face turned serious. "Listen Agumon, this is very important. Have you seen Hikari anywhere around?"   
  
"Hikari?" Agumon asked. His face scrunched up as he thought for a moment. "Not for a while," he answered. "Why?"   
  
"She's missing, Agumon," Taichi replied.   
  
"Oh." Agumon's face fell. "Hey!," he suddenly realized. "Maybe Tentomon knows where she is."  
  
"Is he near here?" Miyako asked.   
  
"Yeah, not too far," Agumon replied. He waved a claw to his left. "That way."   
  
"Okay, I guess we get walking then," Taichi decided.   
  
***  
  
Hikari awoke and stretched. The first thing she was aware of, after she had gotten the annoying kinks out of her back, was that she was rather hungry. Then she realized that she wasn't in her bedroom.   
  
The events of the previous day suddenly came back to her in a rush of recollection. She sat up and peered around the hidden cave Wizarmon had made into a home.   
  
She stood up off the floor and dusted herself off. Wizarmon was still asleep in the bed, and Tailmon had fallen asleep by her side. Hikari had been offered the bed, but had opted for the floor after seeing the size was just a bit too small.   
  
All in all, the floor hadn't been too uncomfortable, considering it was stone. Hikari thought about fixing some breakfast for them, but didn't want to go rummaging through Wizarmon's supply chest, and decided she would just wait until the others had awakened.   
  
Out of boredom, she turned to her digivice. It had been blank and useless since she'd arrived there. As she'd expected it to be. Of course she wouldn't detect any of the others. They weren't here in this universe. They were on this universe's earth. Although, would the chosen children on this world be detected on her digivice? Or were they incompatible?   
  
Hikari decided to halt that train of thought for the while. Her head was beginning to ache. She turned to her D-terminal instead, and began to absently read through old emails. Suddenly, the device beeped.  
  
'I've got mail?' she wondered. She noticed the mail was from Miyako. Eagerly, she opened it and read.   
  
Hikari-san,  
  
We thought you were dead! How could you be alive? Is it possible? Give me details, please! All the digiports were destroyed by the Kaiser. If only we had some clue as to his true identity. Then maybe we could have stopped him. I wish there was some way we could help you. Koushiro and I are hard at work on opening a new one, but so far we've had no luck. Please tell me what's going on!  
  
Inoue Miyako  
  
"I guess that answers the question," Hikari thought. "My email didn't go to my Miyako. It went to this world's Miyako."  
  
"What should I do in the meantime though?" she wondered. "Should I email Miyako back and tell her it's all a mix-up? That I'm not her Hikari, and the one she was supposed to get an email from is actually dead?"  
  
She shook her head with a sigh.   
  
***  
  
"Hikari-chan?" Tentomon buzzed. "Ah, that's right. Koushiro told me of your problem. No, I'm afraid I haven't seen her either."   
  
"What could have happened to her?" Taichi demanded of the insectoid digimon. "She couldn't have just - disappeared, could she?"   
  
Tentomon backed up slightly to avoid him. "I don't know, don't blame me. It wasn't me that took her." He waved his "arms" nervously in an attempt to placate Taichi.   
  
"Took her?" questioned the boy. "Do you think someone could have taken her?" He turned to Daisuke. "Who would want her?"   
  
"I - uh," Daisuke stammered for a moment.   
  
"Did you? Do you know anything about this?" Taichi demanded. He turned to Ken. "What about you? You know this stuff. Is it possible?"   
  
"Well - I -," Ken was at a loss for words. He knew Taichi didn't trust him. He wasn't expecting to be incriminated, but asked for advice? That confused him.  
  
"Taichi, calm down," Agumon tried. "It's not Tentomon's fault. It's not Daisuke's or Ken's either! Calm down!"  
  
Taichi at this point had moved on from Ken and Daisuke and Tentomon and was babbling to himself.   
  
"Taichi-san - " Takeru tried. Before he could get in a word, a loud beeping noise sounded from Taichi's vicinity.   
  
"What the?" Taichi wondered. He lifted his digivice from its position on his belt. "I'm reading someone," he realized in shock.   
  
"Are you sure it isn't us?" Agumon asked, relieved his partner was sane again.   
  
"No," Taichi replied. "It's not. I don't know who, though."   
  
***  
  
"Good morning," Wizarmon stated as pleasantly as possible.  
  
"Morning," Hikari replied with a smile.   
  
"I guess I'll get breakfast going. Anyone hungry?"   
  
"I am," Tailmon answered, rubbing her stomach.   
  
The three made their way to the table in the "kitchen" area, and Wizarmon began to rummage through his storage chest for some food.   
  
"Wizarmon," Hikari spoke up, still concerned. "I got an e-mail from Miyako today. It seems she got my email."  
  
"The one you sent when we first got here?" Tailmon asked in surprise.   
  
"Yes. Only it went to the Miyako of this world." She opened her D-terminal and read the e-mail to Wizarmon and Tailmon. "Should I e-mail her back? Should I explain who I am? Or let her know that I'm not her Hikari?"   
  
"Perhaps you should," Wizarmon replied as he continued to search for food.   
  
"Are we going to fight this world's Ken, too?" Tailmon questioned.   
  
"I'm not sure that we should. It's not our world. Should we interfere?"   
  
"The DigiKaiser does need to be stopped," Wizarmon replied. "Perhaps you were brought here for that purpose."   
  
"That's another good question," Tailmon spoke up. "Who brought us here?"  
  
Neither Hikari nor Wizarmon had a reply for that. "I guess that defeating this Kaiser would help to restore the balance to this world," Hikari answered her own question finally.   
  
"There are probably hundreds of enslaved digimon in this world," Tailmon agreed. "We could save them."   
  
"More like millions," Wizarmon replied. He turned back to them with a few plates of food. "It's not much," he commented. "But it tastes good."   
  
"Thank you," Hikari replied. As they ate, she remained silent, thinking about what to do.   
  
***  
  
"The signal is getting stronger!" Taichi half-shouted. They had been walking for close to an hour now, and they hadn't gotten much closer.   
  
"Maybe we should evolve and fly?" Miyako suggested. "We might make more progress."  
  
"It seems to be pretty far away," Iori agreed.   
  
"With Holsmon and Lighdramon we can get there in no time at all," Daisuke reminded him.   
  
Taichi paused for a moment. "Alright," he agreed. He looked around. "I'll go with you, Daisuke. Miyako and Iori can take Halsmon."   
  
"I'll take Pegasmon," Takeru spoke up. He glanced towards Ken. "And you?"   
  
"Stingmon can manage me," Ken replied quietly. In his arms, Wormmon nodded confidently.   
  
"Good," Taichi nodded. "Everybody evolve!"  
  
"V-mon armor evolve ! Lighdramon - rumbling with friendship!"  
  
"Hawkmon armor evolve! - Holsmon - flapping wings of love!"  
  
"Patamon armor evolve!Pegasmon - the hope that gallops across the heavens!"  
  
"Wormmon evolve! Stingmon!"  
  
***  
  
"Thanks for the food, Wizarmon. It was delicious," Hikari commented.   
  
"I didn't know you were such a good cook," Tailmon agreed.  
  
Wizarmon shrugged. "It's something I picked up out of necessity. I couldn't find anyone to do my cooking."  
  
"So, are we going to fight the DigiKaiser?" Tailmon questioned Hikari without much preamble.   
  
Hikari replied: "I think so. We really don't have much of a choice. We don't know how long we'll be here, and defeating the Kaiser might be our best way of getting home."   
  
Wizarmon nodded. "Good," he replied, pleased.   
  
"So where do we start?" Tailmon wondered. "Do we have any allies?"   
  
"There are few digimon that remain free from the Kaiser's control," Wizarmon answered sadly. "I know of only a few."   
  
"Good. Take us to them," Hikari decided. "We need to have as many allies as possible. Then we can start working to free the others."   
  
***  
  
Author's Notes: Wow, this is moving along nicely. ^_^ What is appearing on Taichi's digivice? Who are the digimon who will be allies to Hikari, Tailmon, and Wizarmon? Will the alternate Koushiro and Miyako discover a way to re-open a portal to the Digiworld? Will they find Wormmon? Will the questions stop?  
  
The answer to the last one is yes. Don't worry. More will be explained soon. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the story.  
  
Thanks to Lord Archive, because his stories, Izumi Asks and NeoDigimon- Digital War, provided the information about the Japanese names and attacks. I haven't yet used any of the attacks, but don't worry, fighting will occur eventually. I also got some information from megchan.com. ^_^  
  



	5. Reinforcements and Enemies

Chapter 5: Reinforcements and Enemies  
  
Hikari and Tailmon followed Wizarmon as quickly as possible through the underground caves. Since the above ground area was impossible to traverse safely, Wizarmon and the few free digimon left had created a tunnel system to stay in contact.   
  
Wizarmon walked ahead, carrying a torch that he had produced out of his hat. It wasn't much, but it was enough so that he was able to see where he was going. Hikari and Tailmon followed.   
  
"So who are our allies?" Hikari questioned. She tried to think of all the possible digimon to survive the Kaiser's attacks. The older chosen's digimon had been safe for a time, but they weren't impervious either.   
  
"There are seven of us," Wizarmon reported, dodging the question slightly. "I don't know if any of them will be able to help you, but I think most of them will be willing to try."   
  
"Are they all in one place?" Tailmon asked.   
  
"No," Wizarmon replied. "Not normally. However, they will be today. We decided to meet once a week and discuss our progress." He sighed. "At one time there were ten of us. But our numbers are reducing everyday."  
  
"But Wizarmon, who are they?" Hikari asked, getting slightly impatient.   
  
"We're almost there," he interrupted, avoiding the question yet again.   
  
***  
  
"Lighdramon, can't you go any faster?" Daisuke urged his partner. "I think Taichi's a bit impatient."   
  
"Sorry Daisuke, but this is about my speed limit," Lighdramon replied.   
  
"We're getting closer," Taichi reported, still staring at his digivice.   
  
"Are you sure that thing isn't just broken or something?" Daisuke questioned. "Mine isn't reading a thing."   
  
Taichi shrugged. "We've got to check it out any way," he answered.   
  
"Hey! I see something!" Takeru shouted from slightly to the left. He pointed ahead of them, and Daisuke and Taichi both looked to see what it was.   
  
A giant mushroom cloud was rising from the forest floor.  
  
"What's that coming from?" Miyako wondered.   
  
"Probably a fight," Taichi decided. "And that's right where I'm getting the signal on my digivice."   
  
"Do you think Hikari-chan could be involved in a fight?" Iori questioned.   
  
"I don't think so," Daisuke stated. "Then the rest of us would be getting her signal, too, right?"   
  
"But then what's causing it?" Takeru asked.   
  
No one had much of an answer to that question. Their only choice was to keep riding and they'd discover when they got there.   
  
***  
  
"Here we are!" Wizarmon announced. He pushed on a piece of odd-colored rock that was nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the cave walls. As if by magic(or some other programming miracle), the walls slid open to reveal another rock chamber.   
  
Six figures stood inside. The rock chamber was high enough to permit the tallest to stand inside, but most of the inhabitants were at that point in smaller stages, so it was unnecessary.   
  
"Hikari-chan!" several voices called, and Hikari was able to recognize the figures immediately.   
  
"Agumon! Piyomon! Andromon! Gomamon! Palmon!" she cheered, kneeling down to hug the rookie digimon that crowded her immediately. "I'm so glad you're okay." Even if these weren't the same digimon that she knew in her world, they were still her friends' digimon.   
  
"Hikari-chan, we thought you'd been killed," Agumon said as he hugged her (and Tailmon, though the digi-cat didn't appreciate it very much).  
  
"She was," Wizarmon replied in a solemn voice. "This isn't the Hikari you know."   
  
"It's not?" Piyomon repeated. "Why not?"   
  
"She looks the same," Palmon noted, and Gomamon agreed with her.   
  
"Yes, but we're not from your world," Tailmon reported.   
  
"Not from our world?" Andromon repeated blankly.   
  
"No, Andromon. They were transported from another reality," Wizarmon explained.   
  
"Then Hikari was destroyed?" Piyomon asked.   
  
"Yes, I'm afraid so," the wizard replied.   
  
"But I'm eager to help you guys defeat Ken," Hikari assured them. "I - we did it in my world, I'm sure that we can do it in this one."   
  
"Ken?" Gomamon asked.   
  
"That's the Digi-Kaiser's real name," Tailmon explained. "He's really just a troubled boy."   
  
"How did you manage to defeat him?" Palmon asked, interested.   
  
"Well, we had some help from a little guy named Wormmon," Hikari began.   
  
***  
  
"Looks like some fight!" Taichi commented. Up ahead, a Golemon and a Yukidarumon were involved in a fight. The Golemon looked sufficiently annoyed, and the Yukidarumon was no less angry.   
  
"Hey!" Daisuke dismounted Lighdramon, who de-evolved back to V-mon and rested for a bit. Neither Digimon noticed him.   
  
"Daisuke, look out!" Takeru warned.   
  
"Daisuke, you can't just barge in there!" Taichi shouted in agreement, running after him.   
  
Miyako shook her head and sighed. "He's gonna get himself killed," she remarked to Iori and Ken as they arrived.   
  
Ken shrugged slightly, but concern was evident in his eyes.   
  
"Hey!" Daisuke shouted to the Golemon and the Yukidarumon. "What's the big fight?"   
  
"He's - trying - to - break - the - dam!" Yukidarumon shouted.   
  
"Dam?" Daisuke repeated blankly.   
  
"Over here!" a smaller voice shouted.   
  
"Palmon!" Taichi shouted a greeting. "What's going on?"   
  
"The dam!" Palmon replied as the boy ran to greet her. She pointed a green "hand" in the opposite direction. "He tried to climb it. He started to break it, too. If Yukidarumon hadn't come along, it would have flooded the whole valley."   
  
Taichi peered at the dam in the distance. He could see a hole in the side of the dam that was already beginning to spew water.   
  
"Guys, we've got to fill that hole!" he shouted to the others, who came running when he shouted.   
  
"I'm on it!" Daisuke shouted. "V-mon! Digimental Up!"   
  
"V-mon armor evolve! Fladramon - burning with courage!"  
  
"I'll help," Iori offered. "Armadimon! Digimental Up!"   
  
"Armadimon armor evolve! Digmon - the wisdom of steel!"   
  
"Allow me to assist," Hawkmon offered.   
  
"Sure thing!" Miyako agreed. "Digimental up!"   
  
"Hawkmon armor evolve! Shurimon - bursting with purity!"  
  
***  
  
"And so Ken realized the error of his ways," Hikari explained. "Recently, he's begun helping us to destroy all the control spires that he had put up."   
  
"What a heartwarming story," Agumon commented, wiping a tear out of his eye.   
  
"The question is, will we," Andromon gestured to the surrounding group, "be able to defeat the Kaiser without Wormmon's help."   
  
"I've never hear d of this Wormmon," Piyomon agreed with a frown. "I wonder if the Kaiser's keeping him a secret."   
  
"I suspect it's more likely he's being kept secret from the Kaiser, even," Tailmon replied.   
  
"Why do you think that?" Hikari asked.   
  
"Well, Wormmon was always a threat. He never really agreed with Ken and he helped us quite a bit," Tailmon reminded her. "It's possible that someone or something is controlling Ken and they know that Wormmon is a liability."   
  
"Or the evil jerk could have just had him eliminated," Gomamon grumbled.   
  
"I doubt he'd do that," Hikari assured him, but she was worried.   
  
"There's just one thing I wonder about," Tailmon stated. "In our reality, Andromon was under the Kaiser's control." She turned to the mechanical digimon. "How did you manage to escape?"   
  
"You assisted me," he replied in his mechanized voice. "When I saw you, the memories of you and your brother helped me to over ride the dark ring."   
  
"It was your most helpful act," Wizarmon added. "Unfortunately, right after assisting in the freeing of Andromon, you were captured by the Kaiser."   
  
***  
  
"Ugh," Yukidarumon groaned as he collapsed on the ground. "I can't take all this hot weather."   
  
"Guys, look out!" Taichi shouted as the Golemon rushed past him without a second glance.  
  
"We see him," Fladramon replied. "Fire Rocket!" Fire burst from his claws and roared toward the Golemon. Golemon groaned slightly, but the attack barely hurt him.   
  
"Aim for the dark ring!" Iori advised.   
  
"Let me try," Digmon offered. "Gold Rush!" Golemon staggered a bit from the attack, but rushed past him and up the side of the dam.   
  
  
"Permit me," Shurimon bounced up the side of the wall. "Kusanagi!" The stars attached to the end of his springy arms flung into the side of the rock creature.   
  
"Shurimon, don't hurt him!" Miyako shouted in horror.  
  
Golemon groaned and roared with pain. Without a word, he grabbed the stars from the side of his rocky body and flung them back towards Shurimon. A light surrounded him as he de-evolved, returning to Hawkmon.   
  
"Oh no!" Miyako moaned. She looked helplessly towards the bird, but he was in the river bed far below her, and she couldn't reach him.   
  
"Pegasmon!" Takeru shouted. "Go for it!"   
  
"On it," the flying horse replied, flying towards the Golemon, who had since returned to his climb up the dam. "Shooting Star!" Bright lights flew down from the sky and whacked the Golemon's back.   
  
He groaned and turned back towards Pegasmon. When the horse flew around for another pass, he reached out and whacked him. Groaning from the strain, Pegasmon glowed and de-evolved to Patamon, falling to the ground.   
  
"He's too strong!" Takeru gasped.   
  
"It's up to us, Iori!" Daisuke told his friend. "Fladramon! Go for it!"  
  
"Aim for the dark ring," Iori added.   
  
"I'm not seeing it!" Digmon replied.   
  
"I don't either," Fladramon replied.   
  
"Well then, we'll just have to fight him," Daisuke replied with a slight shrug.  
  
"Daisuke!" Miyako gasped in horror. "You can't hurt him!"   
  
Daisuke turned back to her. "If we don't then that village down there will be flooded," he shot back, pointing past the dam.   
  
"You can't kill him!" she repeated. "It's not his fault."   
  
"Miyako, if there isn't a dark ring that we can find, we might not have a choice," Takeru replied sensibly.   
  
Miyako frowned. "Try not to kill him, please," she begged her friends.   
  
"I don't see why he should have to die," Iori agreed. "We should do everything to prevent that."   
  
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Golemon had succeeded in pulling a large rock from the side of the dam. He heaved it at Digmon and Fladramon, who were standing close together to combine attacks. They de-evolved as well.   
  
"Should we try, Ken-chan?" Stingmon questioned. He and Ken had been standing off to the side, helping Taichi and the exhausted Yukidarumon.   
  
Ken nodded. "Doesn't look like we have much of a chance," he replied. "Go get 'em, Stingmon." He smiled slightly as the giant bug took off.   
  
"I hope someone can stop him," Taichi commented as he watched Stingmon fly off.   
  
The other four chosen were still arguing. "If there's no other way to stop him, we're going to have to kill him," Daisuke stated. "It's just that simple."   
  
Miyako shook her head adamantly. "No. I won't be responsible for out right murder of a digimon. There's got to be good in him, there's just got to be."   
  
Behind her, Iori nodded in agreement. "I agree. There's got to be someway to stop him without killing him."   
  
"There may not be time to sit down and talk with him," Daisuke shouted, loosing his patience with the other two.   
  
"I don't care!" Miyako shouted back. "There's still no reason to kill him!"   
  
Iori and Takeru stepped back, slightly surprised. This was obviously becoming a personal fight.   
  
Down below, on the riverbed floor, Hawkmon slowly managed to stand up. Patamon, lying nearby, looked at him in astonishment. "How can you manage to move?" he questioned, barely able to summon the strength to lift his head.   
  
Hawkmon blinked. "I - don't know," he replied. He felt a rush of energy and in the distance heard a high-pitched squealing sound. "I - think I'm evolving," he gasped.   
  
Patamon, V-mon, and Armadimon could only stare.   
  
"Hawkmon evolve!" A pillar of light surrounded the bird as he grew larger. "Aquilamon!"   
  
Aquilamon looked a bit like Holsmon, but without the metal helmet. Instead, two impressive horns grew from his head. Immediately, he took to the air and flew towards the Golemon.   
  
Miyako stared. "Hawkmon evolved?" she asked, dumbfounded.   
  
"Blast laser," Aquilamon shouted in a deep voice. Two lazer beams shot from the horns on his head and blasted at the Golemon. It was enough to shake him up enough but not seriously injure him.   
  
"Aquilamon, don't hurt him too bad!" Miyako reminded him, her argument with Daisuke forgotten for the moment.   
  
Taichi ran up, Yukidarumon right behind him. "Whoa Miyako, that's impressive," he complimented.   
  
The fight with Golemon continued for a few moments, without anyone making much progress.   
  
"Spiking Finish!" a deep voice shouted from somewhere, and before Aquilamon, Golemon, or any of the humans could react, a green blurb rushed past and a bright red spike was soon lodged in Golemon's back.   
  
Golemon through back his head and screamed loudly. His skin somehow peeled away, revealing a dark interior, which then dissolved into digital data.   
  
The others simply stared, dumbfounded.   
***  
Author's Notes: Boy that was a long part, no? Don't worry, I'll get back to Hikari and focus on her more in the next chapter.   
  
In case any one was wondering about the things that are different in this story and the timeline, this is what you need to know. First, this story takes place right after the episode "Davis Cries Wolfmon" (I don't know what it's called in Japanese, that was the English title). However, Daisuke was able to convince Ken to join them for trips to the digital world, unlike in the original version. Although Miyako, and especially Iori, are uncomfortable about this, nothing much has come of it, yet. Though that WILL change.   
  
In the meantime, thanks for all the reviews, stay tuned!  
  
^_^  



	6. What do do now?

Chapter 6: What to do now?  
  
Hikari looked around at the small group of digimon that surrounded her. So far, it seemed that there was little hope they would defeat the Kaiser. Suddenly, she remembered something.   
  
"Wizarmon, I thought you said there were seven of you?" she asked.   
  
"There were," he replied.   
  
"Elecmon was the seventh," Piyomon explained. "But he's been injured."   
  
"Injured?" Tailmon repeated.   
  
Gomamon nodded. "He's recuperating a few caves from here," the seal-like digimon explained, gesturing a flipper in the opposite direction.   
  
"So our forces are limited to four children, one adult, and one perfection. Plus Tailmon," Hikari added. "Who is adult stage now but can become armored."  
  
Tailmon nodded calmly, but all could see the pride in her features.   
  
"Not great odds," Gomamon stated bluntly. "Especially since, with the control spires, there's no way we can evolve." He gestured towards himself and the other three child digimon.   
  
"For now maybe we should stay undercover," Piyomon suggested.   
  
Hikari nodded. "Good plan, Piyomon. We should try and figure out if we can find where Wormmon might be hidden. If he's even alive."   
  
"Maybe you and I can work on making some real progress," Tailmon suggested.   
  
Hikari frowned for a moment. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," she hesitated. "Does anyone have any idea where Wormmon might be hidden?" she asked everyone in the room.   
  
"The best place to look would be near the Kaiser's fortress. He keeps quite a few controlled digimon there and makes them fight for his own amusement. Unfortunately, it's very heavily guarded," Palmon explained.   
  
"Assuming the Kaiser has Wormmon," Tailmon reminded them. "He could be hidden from him."   
  
"Well, we'll definitely figure that out when we get there, won't we?" Gomamon replied.   
  
"The odds are against us," Andromon calculated. "If Wormmon is there, we should try to get him and get out as soon as possible. We cannot risk an all out battle. There are two few of us."   
  
"Agreed," Hikari replied. She turned to Tailmon. "You and I can try to knock out the nearest control spires so that the other digimon in the area can evolve." She shuddered slightly. "Hopefully we won't run into Ken."   
  
"If you do, it might be a good thing," Wizarmon considered. "He might think you're a ghost."   
  
"If that works, your scaring him will distract him enough for the rest of us to make some progress," Palmon agreed.   
  
"Okay," Hikari nodded. "How far is it to the fortress?"   
  
***  
  
Yukidarumon looked blank. "Hikari?" he questioned.   
  
"Yeah," Taichi replied. He held his arm in front of him. "She's a girl, about this tall. My sister. She's missing."   
  
Yukidarumon shrugged. "Nope," he replied. "Haven't seen anyone like that."   
  
Taichi slumped slightly and turned back to his digivice.   
  
"Thanks anyway Yukidarumon," Iori added politely.   
  
"You'll have to forgive Taichi," Daisuke added. "He's a bit distraught at the moment."   
  
"No trouble," Yukidarumon replied cheerfully. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got to head north a bit." He waved good-bye as he clomped off into the distance.   
  
"I just don't get what happened to that Golemon," Miyako thought with a distant expression.   
  
"He didn't get deleted the way normal digimon do," Ken agreed. "He was different somehow."   
  
"That's what I wanted to tell you," Palmon spoke up. "There was this weird lady - ,"   
  
***  
  
"Okay guys, we're almost there. Everyone stay low," Hikari whispered to her "troops."   
  
Behind her, Tailmon, Piyomon, Palmon, Agumon, Gomamon, Andromon, and Wizarmon all nodded. They crouched through the forest as quietly as possible.   
  
"There it is," Piyomon whispered, waving a wing in the general direction in front of them all.   
  
Everyone peered through the foliage. As usual, the fortress was a bleak sight. A dark structure loomed over the scene.   
  
But this group was more focused on the small area just to the left of it. A small area was dug out of the ground, and small cages lined the "walls." Inside, Hikari could see quite a few digimon.   
  
"Do you see Wormmon?" Tailmon questioned.   
  
Hikari shook her head. "No," she replied. "But I can't see all the cages."   
  
"Should we go for it?" Palmon asked.   
  
The small group debated for a few moments. After a quick vote, they decided to attack.  
  
***  
  
"You mean that Golemon was only a control spire?" Miyako questioned.   
  
Palmon nodded. "I meant to tell you before, but we were so caught up in the battle that there wasn't time."   
  
"That's okay, Palmon," Iori assured her. "At least you told us, even if it was a little late."   
  
"Is there anything on your digivice anymore, Taichi?" Daisuke asked.   
  
Taichi shook his head with a sigh. "No, it's disappeared," he replied with a sigh.   
  
"You're looking for something?" Palmon asked.   
  
"Yes," Takeru replied. "Hikari-chan is missing."   
  
"Missing? Oh dear," the plant digimon replied. "I'm sorry I can't help. I haven't seen her around."   
  
"Neither has anyone else," Taichi groaned. "What am I gonna tell my parents?"   
  
No one answered. They didn't know what to say either.   
  
***  
  
"Digimental Up!"  
  
"Tailmon armor evolve! Nefertimon - the light of smiles!"  
  
Hikari mounted Nefertimon and the two flew over head. Andromon and Wizarmon, the only two with sufficient fire power to be of use, followed after them.   
  
The area was guarded by four mean looking Monochromon, a swarm of at least fifteen Flymon, and quite a few Gotsumon.   
  
"The Gotsumon shouldn't be a problem for us children," Agumon stated optimistically. They're children, too." He started forward.   
  
"Agumon, stay here!" Palmon hissed, but Agumon was already gone.   
  
The battle began quickly as Nefertimon flew out of the trees. Immediately, half the Flymon began to attack, while the other half began to swarm around, getting ready to attack.   
  
"Deadly Sting," several buzzed, shooting sharp poisonous arrows at them.   
  
"Rosetta Stone!" Nefertimon called back, firing her attack back. A few of the Flymon were knocked down, and one or two were freed, as the black rings around them snapped and dissolved into data.   
  
"Nefertimon, we've got to destroy the control spire," Hikari reminded her partner.   
  
"I'm trying," Nefertimon replied, shooting another attack at the Flymon. Thankfully, the two that were now free were working to free their friends, but there was little progress being made.   
  
"Gatling missile," Andromon shouted, knocking out a Flymon and freeing another.   
  
"Thunder Cloud!" Wizarmon added his attack to the fray. "Hikari, Nefertimon, destroy that spire!"   
  
"On it!" Nefertimon answered, changing direction and heading for the spire above the fortress.   
  
"Thanks Wizarmon, Andromon!" Hikari waved back as they raced towards the spire.   
  
"Baby Flame!" Agumon shouted, freeing a Gotsumon. He grinned. "This is fun," he commented to Palmon.   
  
"Yeah, well we still should have stayed hidden," Piyomon retorted. "Magical Fire!" she aimed for a few Flymon.   
  
"Eeeyah!" Gomamon shouted, jumping on a Gotsumon and attempting to battle it as much as possible.   
  
"Angry Rock!" the Gotsumon shouted. Several rocks flew out of its head and Gomamon went flying into a tree. He slumped, eyes shutting as he fell unconscious.   
  
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon shouted, pulling the Gotsumon away from Gomamon before he could attack again. She threw him in the direction of the other Gotsumon, and the force of that throw knocked out several of them.   
  
"We're almost there, Nefertimon!" Hikari cheered as they flew closer to the spiral. "Attack it now!"  
  
"I think not," a voice that she recognized came from behind her. She was almost afraid to turn, but she did anyway.   
  
"Ken. I mean Kaiser," Hikari stated bluntly.   
  
"I'm surprised you're still alive, Hikari," he replied with a sneer. He stood, his cape flying in the digital wind, on an Airdramon, as he usually did. "And I wonder who gave you that little piece of information?"   
  
"Your real name?" Hikari asked. She shrugged. "It's not so hard to figure out."   
  
~'If Ken things you were dead, you can use that to your advantage,'~ Hikari recalled Wizarmon's advice.   
  
"It's the sort of knowledge that comes easy to one eventually," she added mysteriously.  
  
"What are you talking about?" the Digi-Kaiser demanded. Hikari didn't respond.   
  
"I know that you're really a nice guy inside," she said instead. "And that the darkness has corrupted you. But you don't have to let it."   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," the Kaiser snapped. But he turned away slightly, apparently affected.   
  
"What have you done with Wormmon?" she asked.   
  
"Wormmon?" he asked. His face showed a questioning state. "Who in the Digiworld is Wormmon?"   
  
Hikari gasped. "Wormmon is your partner, Ken," she reminded him, hoping he wasn't speaking the truth.   
  
"I don't have a partner," Ken snapped in response. "And I don't have time to chat." He pulled a whistle from around his neck and blew hard. "Attack!" he shouted.   
  
***  
  
Author's notes:   
  
Hehe. I'm evil. A cliffhanger. Actually, two! What will Taichi and the others do if they can't find Hikari? And what does the Kaiser have planned? Who really has Wormmon? And what happens next???  
  
To find the answer to all these questions? Well, wait a little and then read the next part (once I have it posted, of course). Shouldn't be more than a few days. I'm really getting a good amount of inspiration on this one.   
  
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me. ^_^  



	7. Ken Helps while Hikari Fights Ken

Chapter Seven: Ken Helps While Hikari Fights Ken  
  
Taichi sat down with a sigh on a nearby rock. "This is just horrible," he grumbled, burying his face in his hands.   
  
"Hey, guys?" a voice called, questioning, from a distance.   
  
Takeru looked around. "Koushiro?" he asked.   
  
"There's a TV over there, I think," Patamon offered, pointing. Takeru and Iori located the television in the woods nearby.   
  
"Hi Koushiro," Takeru and Iori both greeted.   
  
"Hey guys," Koushiro said again. "Tell Taichi that there's nothing wrong with his computer. No problems, viruses, or whatever here." He grinned happily.   
  
"That's great, Koushiro-sempai," Iori replied. "But I don't know if Taichi-san is going to be as happy as you are about it."   
  
"Why not?" Koushiro asked.   
  
"We haven't had any luck finding Hikari-chan," Takeru replied. "Though we have had a few new developments." He quickly recounted the events of the past hour to the computer whiz.   
  
"Wow, you certainly have been busy," Koushiro agreed.   
  
Taichi wandered his way out of his lost confusion (with some help from Miyako and Daisuke) and over to the television.   
  
"Koushiro, we still have no sign of her," he reported. "What's going on?"   
  
"I'm not sure, Taichi," the other answered. "Maybe you all should come back for a bit. I could use Miyako's help trying to figure out what happened."   
  
"Sure thing," Miyako piped up from behind Taichi.   
  
"Okay," Taichi agreed with a sigh. "I guess there's no point looking here if she's not here."   
  
***  
  
"Blue Meramon! Attack!" Ken - er - the Kaiser shouted.   
  
"BLUE Meramon?" Hikari asked Nefertimon.   
  
A tall digimon appeared, dark ring clearly visible around its neck. It looked almost exactly like a regular Meramon, except that it was blue.   
  
"Blue Meramon is a higher evolved form of Meramon," Nefertimon reported. "His attacks are Ice Phantom and Cold Flame."  
  
"I'm guessing he's not as hot as a regular Meramon," Hikari thought aloud.   
  
Nefertimon flew out of the Blue Meramon's range as she replied. "No, his attacks are more like ice."   
  
"Cold Flame," the Blue Meramon mumbled in a low voice, wasting no time obeying his orders.   
  
Hikari held tight to Nefertimon as she swerved out of the way. "That was close," she commented.   
  
"Too close," Nefertimon agreed. "Rosetta Stone!" she shouted. A pink light shined above her head, and a stone tablet appeared in that light, which then hurtled towards the fire-y digimon.   
  
"Cold Flame," the Meramon replied simply, destroying the tablet with little effort.   
  
"He's too strong for us," Hikari gasped. "We need help!"   
  
***  
  
"So there's nothing wrong with the computer?" Taichi asked.   
  
"Nope," Koushiro replied. "I ran a virus scan twice and checked for errors in the digital gate, but I didn't find any."   
  
"That's great," Taichi grumbled sarcastically as he sat down on the bed. "Great news, Mama. The computer's not broken. Oh, but Hikari-chan is missing. No clue where she is. Could be hurt. Bad." He sighed and flopped down. "They'll love that."   
  
"Could there have been a problem with Hikari-chan's digivice?" Daisuke questioned.   
  
"Maybe," Koushiro replied.   
  
"Can we get some food, Daisuke?" Chibimon requested from his perch on his partner's head. "I'm hungry."   
  
"You're hungry?" Upamon asked from his spot in Iori's arms. "You didn't even fight."   
  
"Yeah, well, I had to run," Chibimon answered.   
  
"I don't know, guys. We'll have to ask Taichi-san. It is his house," Iori replied.   
  
"You guys hungry?" Taichi asked. He shrugged. "There's food in the fridge. Help yourself. I dunno how much is edible, though, so watch out."   
  
"I've still got some snacks left," Miyako offered, pulling a few candy bars out of her backpack.   
  
"Let's go look for food. C'mon Iori," Daisuke suggested. He, Iori, Taichi, and Takeru headed for the kitchen with their respective digimon.   
  
Ken remained behind, awkwardly wondering whether he should have followed or if he should offer to help Miyako and Koushiro, who were now involved in a detailed conversation suggesting possible explanations.   
  
Minomon seemed content to stay with Poromon and eat the offered candy bars. So he decided to stay for the moment.   
  
"I'm not understanding it either," Miyako told Koushiro as she moved into the seat in front of the computer. "It's working fine now, but before - ."  
  
"It doesn't make sense," Koushiro agreed. "Everything is exactly the same."   
  
"Except for that," Miyako realized suddenly, pointing to something on the screen.  
  
***  
  
"Cold Flame," the Blue Meramon stated in a somewhat bored voice.   
  
Nefertimon was tiring, as she dived out of the way of the attack. Blue Meramon was hardly moving a muscle, and she'd only gotten in two useless attacks.   
  
"Thunder Cloud," Wizarmon shouted, aiming his attack for the Dark Ring around the Blue Meramon's neck.   
  
"Gatling Missile," Andromon announced meanwhile, aiming for the dark spire in the distance. His attack was interrupted by a few fortunate Flymon, who were promptly freed, but left a bit dazed.   
  
"Magical Fire," Piyomon announced, aiming her swirling attack at the Monochromon.   
  
"Angry Rock!" a few of the freed Gotsumon joined in.   
  
"Baby Flame!" Agumon chimed in.   
  
Between the combined assaults, the dark ring didn't stand a chance. However, all of them working on one left them vulnerable to attacks from the other three Monochromon.   
  
The Gotsumon were nearly all freed now, and were helping to free the others as well as to help their rescuers. Slowly, the tide was turning against the Kaiser.   
  
But Ken wasn't worried. Sure, the Monochromon, Flymon, and Gotsumon were being freed. But it wouldn't last. Not with Blue Meramon on his side. He was very pleased, actually, with having succeeded in controlling such an evolved digimon.   
  
Some part of him, deep in the very bottom of his stomach, and what was left of his heart and/or soul, he felt bad about hurting the girl. Confused, about why she was still here. Hadn't he left her to the elements? It had been a tough decision. But he couldn't keep her there all the time. It would be a nuisance. And he couldn't send her back. That was out of the question.   
  
But for some reason he'd been unable to kill her. Still, shouldn't she be dead? She'd been left, weakened, in the worst part of the desert. She was stronger now, when she should have been weakened.   
  
And what of this - Wormmon - that she had mentioned? Why did that name strike such a chord within him when he knew that he had never heard it before? Wormmon. It sounded like a useless digimon, why would he have one of those? There was no point in having a useless digimon around. Efficiency was the order of the day. Only digimon that were useful were ever used.   
  
Though he had to admit he had missed the challenge of battle since those meddling kids had left. Truth be told, he missed capturing wild digimon and forcing them to do his will. Nothing was being harmed, it was all just a game. But he was getting bored, he confessed. He'd have to make a few changes soon.   
  
But - what was this? Wizarmon and Andromon? Meddling fools. Helping that girl. What was her name? He knew he'd heard it, but he didn't know what it was. Not that it was important. She'd soon be no more of a threat. Maybe this time he'd keep her around for amusement. She wasn't the most attractive of girls, at least not to his taste. He preferred them a little less sickly. But she'd do for his entertainment.   
  
What was that now? Sparks? Flying from Blue Meramon's dark ring? Could that be a malfunction? Blast it. He'd have to work on the program. That would be something to do. It was the second malfunction after the problem with that blasted Andromon. He should have tried to fix it then, but no. He hadn't. Why? He mentally kicked himself for his procrastination.   
  
***  
  
"I'm not sure what that is," Koushiro replied, dumbfounded.   
  
Curious (and bored), Ken slipped behind Koushiro to peer over Miyako's other shoulder. The digital gate screen was up, and the area Miyako was pointing to was indeed different from what he had ever seen, either on his own computer or any other.   
  
"They're numbers," Miyako noted. "But I'm not sure what they mean."   
  
Koushiro didn't reply. There was silence for a few moments as both thought.   
  
"Coordinates," Ken spoke softly. Miyako and Koushiro both turned to him. At the awareness of their sudden interest in him, he looked down, pretending to suddenly find his shoes fascinating.   
  
"Coordinates?" Miyako questioned, confused.   
  
"Coordinates for what?" Koushiro chimed in.   
  
"For the digital world," Ken replied softly, barely looking at the other two. "Those coordinates are usually two different numbers. Those are the digital world's location. The numbers below it," he added, pointing towards the two numbers below them, "are the coordinates within the digital world."   
  
"The digital world's location?" Miyako repeated.   
  
Ken nodded, pulling his eyes away from the computer and glancing briefly at her face to confirm his suspicion of her confusion. "I'm not sure what they mean exactly. But those numbers make certain that we go to the digital world and no where else."   
  
"Then if the numbers were to change -," Koushiro began.   
  
"We'd go somewhere else other than Digiworld," Ken finished. "At least, I think. It's only a theory."   
  
"That could be what happened to Hikari-chan," Miyako spoke up, comprehending finally. "If the numbers were changed, then she could have been transported to any other place."   
  
"But where?" Koushiro wondered.   
  
"Maybe a different digital world," Ken suggested. He reached to the keyboard and began to type. Miyako shifted slightly, but he made no move to take her seat. A moment later, a file filled with numbers appeared on the screen. Most of the numbers were the same.   
  
"What are those?" Miyako asked.   
  
"They're the coordinates that this digital gate has ever sent anyone to," Koushiro realized.   
  
"But that one's different." She pointed to two numbers on the screen.   
  
"That must be the coordinates we're looking for then," Koushiro stated. His eyes were wide, his jaw hanging open. He was impressed.   
  
"That means we can go to other worlds through the digital gate?" Miyako asked, shocked.   
  
Ken merely nodded. His eyes shifted back to his shoes, and he moved away from the computer, indicating that there was more the situation than he was explaining, but he didn't elaborate.   
  
"This means that we know where Hikari-chan is!" Koushiro answered for Miyako. "That's more important than going to other universes or worlds or whatever."   
  
"I know, Koushiro-sempai," Miyako replied, half apologetic. "But I just never considered - ."   
  
"Yum, this is good food," Chibimon commented to the others as he slurped yogurt from Daisuke's arms. His voice brought the three "computer nerds" back to the real world.   
  
"Taichi-san, I think we've made progress," Miyako spoke up.   
  
***  
  
"Do you see that?" Hikari asked Nefertimon. "I think the dark ring is malfunctioning."   
  
"I think so too," her partner agreed. She nodded in the Kaiser's direction. "Looks like he's splitting."   
  
"Ken! Wait! Come back!" Hikari shouted.  
  
Summoning his Airdramon and what ever digimon he still controlled,(at this point only one lone Monochromon) Ken prepared to retreat. "Until we meet again, worthy adversary," he told her with a mocking grin.   
  
With a massive explosion and a groan of pain, Blue Meramon reached up and snapped the dark ring from around his neck. "That's better," he growled. He glanced around at the group of digimon now gathered. "So,"  
he asked. "What'd I miss while I was out?"   
  
(to be continued...)  
***  
Apologies if the Kaiser version of Ken seems a bit OOC in this. I'm a million times more adept and understanding Ken than his alter-ego. I just think that he (especially as the Kaiser) craves excitement in his life and that simply ruling over a bunch of mindless digimon would leave him bored. He seems to enjoy his fights with the Chosen, even when he looses. Part of his sadistic personality, I guess?   
  
Also, I have no idea if the whole going-to-other-worlds/coordinates-on-the-digital-gate thing is anything near possible, but I thought that it was the most reasonable explanation. ^_^   
  
Thanks again to the reviewers. I appreciate you all.   



	8. E-mails and Hope

Chapter 8: E-mails and Hope.   
  
"It's a really long story," Wizarmon assured the newly freed and quite dazed Blue Meramon.   
  
"Let's head back to base and regroup," Andromon agreed.   
  
Hikari and the de-evolved Tailmon agreed. She and the rest of the free digimon began to free those still in the cages. A few minutes later, the group, which now included three Monochromon, fourteen Flymon, twenty-one Gotsumon, three Blossomon, two Mushmon, and one Floramon, headed back to the cave where Hikari and Tailmon had first met their allies. Hikari carried the still unconscious Gomamon in her arms.  
  
***  
  
"Well, if we know where she is, then we should go find her!" Daisuke cheered upon learning the latest revelation from Miyako and Koushiro.   
  
"Not too smart, Daisuke," Koushiro warned. "We're not sure if that's even where she is. And we're not sure if it's safe to go there."   
  
"We're going to try to send an e-mail ahead to Hikari-chan and ask her if she's alright," Miyako replied.   
  
"Is that possible?" Takeru wondered.   
  
"It is," Ken replied softly from his seat at the computer. "We just need to alter the e-mail a little." He was already typing furiously, altering the e-mail program on the computer.   
  
"How long do you think this will take?" Taichi asked.   
  
Koushiro glanced at Ken for a moment. "Probably about an hour?" he estimated.   
  
Ken shook his head. "I'll be done in five minutes," he replied.   
  
Koushiro could only stare, once again impressed by the skills of his former enemy. He and Ken would have to have a talk soon, he decided.   
  
***  
  
"Koushiro-sempai, I got an e-mail back from Hikari-san!" Miyako announced. She waved her D-Terminal in the redhead's face.   
  
"Oh?" Koushiro asked, not even pulling his eyes awake from his computer screen.   
  
"Yes," Miyako replied. "But it seems that there's a bit of confusion."   
  
Koushiro peeled his eyes away from the monitor. "Confusion?" he asked. Solving problems was one of his favorite things to do.   
  
Miyako nodded. "I'll read it to you," she offered.   
  
Miyako,  
  
I'm sorry if my e-mail went to you by mistake. I'm not the Yagami Hikari that you knew. In fact, I'm not sure if your Yagami Hikari is still alive. I'm from another world.   
  
It's rather complicated and I don't know how I got here, but there are a few things I guess I should tell you. In my world, the DigiKaiser was defeated. His real name is Ichijouji Ken. He's a nice boy, but he was corrupted by the powers of darkness.   
  
Tailmon and I have made progress here. We joined up with Wizarmon (who in our world was killed trying to save us) and several other digimon and managed to make some progress in freeing some others. However, we're looking for the one digimon who can help us save Ken. His name is Wormmon, and he's Ken's partner. If any of you have heard of him, I'd appreciate the information.   
  
I'm sorry this isn't the e-mail you were hoping for. But I'm going to do what I can to try to save your digital world.   
  
Yagami Hikari  
  
***  
  
"There," Ken announced somewhat triumphantly. "It's done." He was pleased to see that, despite his falling grades and self-esteem, he could still decently alter a simple e-mail program.   
  
He stepped aside from the computer and Miyako took his seat. "This will let us send Hikari-chan an email?" she asked. Ken nodded, fading into the background again.   
  
"Great, then let's get sending," Taichi decided.   
  
***  
  
Hikari finished bandaging the Mushroomon with a large white piece of adhesive tape that Wizarmon had pulled from his storage chest. "There now," she declared. "All better." She flashed a smile, and the Mushroomon seemed pleased.   
  
"Who's next?" she asked. Floramon stepped forward, and she was about to begin the next bandaging when her D-Terminal beeped twice. "Excuse me," she said to the Floramon, letting Tailmon take over for the moment.   
  
To her surprise, when she opened her D-Terminal, there were two emails. One was from Miyako, and the other was from Taichi.   
  
She opened the one from Miyako first.   
  
Hikari-san,  
  
Wow. What a bummer to hear that you weren't our Yagami Hikari. It's good to know that you're on our side, though. Koushiro is busy trying to put some more power into the digital gates, in hope that it will help them to open.   
  
Wormmon? I'll have to check with everyone else, but I haven't heard anything about him. Poromon, Koushiro, and Tentomon haven't either. Ichijouji Ken? THE Ichijouji Ken? The genius kid that disappeared a while back? No way he's the Digi-Kaiser!   
  
Inoue Miyako  
  
Hikari laughed. "No matter what world I'm in, Miyako is always the same," she thought aloud, remembering Miyako's original response to the Digi-Kaiser's true identity. She typed and sent a quick reply to Miyako, assuring her that, yes, it was THE Ichijouji Ken who was now wreaking havoc on the Digital World, and to appreciate their support and help, even if they hadn't been much.   
  
Then she opened the second message. She fully expected it to be from this world's Taichi, and braced herself for a rather emotional e-mail from her elder brother.   
  
The email began with a number of indecipherable symbols, and Hikari was confused. She stared at them a little and was able to make out words and sentences. But the e-mail was garbled. It read something like this:   
  
!#$#*#&#&$*Hikari$*#&  
  
#$%& Where a$*#e you? Co-#(#*ordinates changed on #*#&digital gate. Thank $#&%*$Ken for #*#( figuring it out. !#$^# able to send #*#( when he #*#*!*$(~ the program. Thought we'd #*$*#($* email before we ^*%&$* went searching. Are $*#&$*(#) alright? Please $*%(#) reply $*#($. REALLY worried $&#*@.   
  
$*#($ brother, Ta#*#χ   
  
"Tailmon!" Hikari shouted. "Taichi! The others! They know where we are! Our Taichi. From our world!"   
  
(to be continued)  
  
  



	9. Found

hikari9

Chapter 9: Found   
  
Taichi paced back and forth in front of his computer for a good fifteen minutes. Back and forth, back and forth he went past the computer, not ceasing in his frantic moments.   
  
"Taichi-san, you should really try to relax," Iori tried to help.   
  
Koushiro shook his head slightly in the direction of the younger boy. "Don't bother, Iori-kun," he told him. "Taichi is way to nervous right now to relax."   
  
"I don't blame him," Takeru agreed from where he sat in a chair nearby. He was calm to the outward observer, but inside he wanted to jump up and down and scream, he was so impatient.   
  
Miyako stood next to Koushiro, who sat at the computer. "I don't think my brother or sisters would be this crazy if I was missing," she commented.   
  
Daisuke nodded. "Jun and I get along okay, but I don't think she'd be so hysterical either," he agreed.   
  
Takeru shrugged. "Well, when you know your younger sibling is in constant danger, you tend to worry more." He frowned slightly. "Since Hikari and I both went to the Digital World when we were rather young, Taichi and my brother had to take care of us a bit. Sometimes, I guess, it's hard to realize we've grown up."   
  
Taichi paused in his pacing and stared at Takeru for a long moment. "Yeah," he murmured. "I guess that's part of it." He resumed his pacing. "But at the same time, Hikari is in a world that I know nothing about. I can't help but worry about her. I'm sure if your siblings knew that you were in another world, risking your life, they'd be a lot more worried." He continued pacing back and forth, his nervousness making him restless.   
  
"That's true," Daisuke admitted. "Jun doesn't know I go and fight monsters." He glanced upwards at Chibimon with a grin, who sat on his head. "Not that she'd have to worry if she knew you were with me," he added, and Chibimon grinned in response.   
  
Before anyone else could continue the conversation, the computer in front of Koushiro chirped. Immediately, Koushiro turned to open the awaiting email.   
  
***   
  
The boy paced back and forth in front of his throne. Only a month earlier, he would have been contented to sit on that chair and simply be pleased with his progress. But much had changed in a month.   
  
The most important change, however, was the one that had occurred only a few hours earlier. He had spotted that girl, the one he'd thought he'd gotten rid of. She had challenged him. And she had mentioned a name that had continued to crawl at the edges of his subconscious, demanding attention.   
  
"What have you done with Wormmon?"   
  
The Digimon Kaiser knew with absolute certainty that he had never heard the name 'Wormmon' before, yet he couldn't put it out of his mind.   
  
There was only one thing to do, therefore, and that was to immediately search out who this Wormmon creature was and decide why exactly that annoying girl had been so worried about him.   
  
But should he? Perhaps this Wormmon, despite the annoyingly useless sound of his name, was actually a powerful digimon that would destroy him the moment he located him. Some part of him was quite afraid of that.   
  
But another part of him doubted that. And that same part thought that this Wormmon would be a help.   
  
And so, in the end, it was the boredom of ruling so many easy to control slaves that made him opt for the excitement of searching for Wormmon.   
  
With a wave of his cape, the Digimon Kaiser turned and stormed down to the darkest dungeons of his base, hoping that one of his slaves would know something about this Wormmon.   
  
***   
  
Taichi read the garbled reply email from Hikari over Koushiro's shoulder. "Why is this so hard to understand?" he wondered.   
  
"Going through dimensions probably altered the data," Miyako suggested. She peered closely at the screen. "At least you can understand most of it."   
  
Taichi nodded. "Well, we've got to go through and try to help her out," he decided after he was done. "She can't do this on her own."   
  
The others agreed. "Daisuke should go," Koushiro stated. "If it wasn't for V-mon evolving to Magnamon, Kimeramon wouldn't have been beaten."   
  
"But there's no proof that Kimeramon exists in that world," Takeru reminded them. "If he doesn't, there's no need for Magnamon."   
  
"How many do you think we can send through safely?" Miyako asked.   
  
Koushiro shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think all of us should go." He glanced towards Hikari's email. "According to this, the digital gates between the digital world and the real world were sealed. There is still no real way for us to bring her or anyone else back if those can't be opened."   
  
"Is there any hope that your counterpart in that world will be able to open them?" Miyako asked. Koushiro merely shrugged.   
  
"I don't know," he replied. "I don't know the whole situation."   
  
"Hopefully, if Hikari-chan can manage to defeat -," Daisuke glanced nervously at Ken, who had remained silent. "If Hikari-chan can succeed," he tried again. "The same thing will happen there that happened in this world."   
  
"Meaning that the Digi-Kaiser will return home," Iori spoke up, deciding not to tiptoe around the situation any longer.   
  
Daisuke stole a glance back at Ken, but the former Kaiser didn't appear to be affected by Iori's words. Then again, he reminded himself, Ken was good at hiding things.   
  
"Let's decide who should go through," Taichi spoke up, getting them back on track. "I should stay here," he offered. "Even though I want to go, I think it'll be best if I stay here and reassure my parents."   
  
The others nodded. "I still think Daisuke should go," Koushiro stated. "If you don't need Magnamon to fight Kimeramon, you may need him for some other purpose."   
  
Daisuke nodded. "Besides, V-mon and I are a fighting force even without Magnamon!" he reminded them with a triumphant grin.   
  
"So Daisuke goes," Taichi stated. "Who else?"   
  
The others glanced around at each other. "I think Ken should go," Miyako spoke quietly but assuredly.   
  
Everyone stared at her, even Ken himself. "Why?" the boy in question managed to whisper, eyes wide.   
  
"If Koushiro-sempai in that world can't get the digital gates to open again, Ken might be able to help," she explained. "Besides," she added with a grin. "It might freak out his counterpart to see himself."   
  
"And Wormmon," Iori remembered. "Hikari-san said that there wasn't a Wormmon in that world. If that Ken's Wormmon isn't there, maybe this Wormmon will help." He looked up at the still shocked Ken, and, more importantly, Minomon in his arms.   
  
Ken looked down at Minomon and then back to Miyako with surprise.   
  
"You really think I should go?" he asked, barely meeting her eyes.   
  
Miyako nodded.   
  
"It is a logical idea," Koushiro agreed.   
  
"Good. Anyone else?" Taichi asked, the matter settled.   
  
"I'll go," Iori volunteered. He glanced at Daisuke and Ken. "I want to help, too. Submarimon is the only water-type we have. He might come in handy."   
  
"Good. It's settled then. Koushiro, Takeru, Miyako, and I will stay here." Taichi glanced around the room. "Good luck," he told the other three.   
  
"Thanks," Daisuke replied, shaking hands with his mentor. "We'll take good care of Hikari-chan."   
  
"We'll indeed do our best, Taichi-san," Iori added politely, bowing slightly.   
  
"We'll save Hikari-chan, won't we Iori?" Upamon asked.   
  
"We'll try," Iori promised. Upamon grinned, bouncing up and down in Iori's arms.   
  
***   
  
"They're on their way," Hikari told the room full of Digimon. "Unfortunately, I don't know where they're going to land. Most likely not here."   
  
"We can track when they come in," Tailmon added. "But we need to be above ground."   
  
"Then we'll head above ground," Wizarmon decided. "I'll go with you to offer some protection." He glanced around. "I think that everyone else should stay here and rest. There's a long fight ahead, I fear."   
  
"Most likely," Andromon agreed. "We'll remain here."   
  
A short while later, Hikari and Tailmon found themselves above ground again. Nearby, they could see a several Alraumon passing through the forest.   
  
"I hope they land in the forest," Tailmon whispered. "It'll be easier for them to hide then."   
  
"It would be nice. But things usually don't go quite so simply," Wizarmon replied. "They'll probably land quite a distance from here."   
  
"Anything yet, Hikari-chan?" Tailmon questioned.   
  
Hikari shook her head, glancing at her digivice again. Suddenly, it came to life, three different colored dots appearing on it.   
  
"They're here," she announced as quietly as possible. "They're far, but just in range of the digivice. I'd better send them a message." She took out her D-terminal and began to furiously type an email. Within seconds, it was sent.   
  
A short time later, the device beeped, and she received an answering message.   
  
Hikari-chan,   
  
We're in the middle of a desert. Reading you on the digivice, but   
just barely. Want us to stay here or move towards you?   
  
Daisuke   
  
Hikari frowned. "It would save time if they were to start moving, but there's a big risk they'll be seen," she debated.   
  
"If they stay, we'll be seen going for them," Tailmon replied. "Either way we risk a fight."   
  
"Good point. I say they go," Wizarmon declared, and Tailmon agreed.   
  
"Okay. Move it is," Hikari decided. She quickly returned to her D-terminal and began typing.   
  
***   
  
"Hikari-chan says we should start moving towards her. Either way we're going to get a fight, so we might as well get it over with," Daisuke read.   
  
"Should we get walking then?" Iori asked.   
  
Daisuke nodded. "Lighdramon can't carry all of us, Digmon and Submarimon aren't much help with speed, and Wormmon can't evolve," he reminded them. "It's best if we walk until we have to fight."   
  
And so it was agreed. The three allies began trekking across the desert, following Hikari's signal on their digivices.   
  
It wasn't long before they spotted a group of Monochromon. Most of them were carrying heavy rocks, boulders, or pieces of wood, and they were being herded into lines by various other digimon.   
  
"Well, we didn't get very far, did we," Daisuke commented somewhat sarcastically. "Do we avoid or fight?"   
  
"Avoiding is best," Iori stated. "We'd be outnumbered in a fight. Badly."   
  
Daisuke nodded. "There's no way to avoid them, though," he grumbled. "Hikari-chan's signal is coming from the other side of that big group."   
  
"What are they doing, anyway?" Armadimon wondered, watching the group of digimon parade past them in the distance. The group was safely hidden behind a large sand dune, watching their opponents.   
  
"Looks like they're carrying stuff," V-mon noted.   
  
"Yeah, but where to?" the other questioned. "And why?"   
  
V-mon shrugged. "Maybe they're building something?"   
  
"What would they build all the way out here?"   
  
"I don't know. A new summer home?"   
  
"It's entirely possible," Iori commented. "Maybe he's thinking about getting comfortable and he's building a new base."   
  
Daisuke shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. If this world's Kaiser wanted to build a summer home, he'd be out here supervising the entire thing so it all came out perfect. But he's not anywhere near." He glanced towards Ken, but the dark haired boy didn't appear to be paying any attention to the conversation. Instead he was staring off into the distance.   
  
"Ken?" Wormmon questioned, following his gaze.   
  
"I see something," the boy mumbled softly, still gazing at the sky.   
  
"I don't see anything," Daisuke commented. "You must have really good eyes."   
  
"Is it Hikari-chan?" V-mon asked.   
  
Wormmon shook his head. "I really doubt it," he replied.   
  
"No," Iori agreed. "It's something much worse."   
  
"What?" Daisuke asked. "What is it?" He peered past the others, squinting in the bright digital sun.   
  
"It's the enemy," Ken replied. Indeed, in the distance, Daisuke could now make out the distinctive and unmistakable silhouette of a single cape-wearing individual atop an Airdramon.   
  
A collective shudder ran down the spines of the three allies hunched in the desert.   



	10. Meeting Yourself Is Weird

hikari10

Chapter 10: Meeting Yourself Is Weird

  
Quickly, Daisuke dove behind the sand dune and began typing on his D-terminal. Iori, Ken, and the digimon weren't far behind.   
  
"What are you doing?" Iori whispered.   
  
"E-mailing Hikari-chan," Daisuke whispered in response. "She said she had reinforcements. If she did, we could really use them, now."   
  
"In the meantime, let's hide," Armadimon advised. He was already burying himself under the sand. Wormmon and V-mon were doing the same. Daisuke finished his hurried e-mail and buried himself in the sand dune as well, ignoring as best he could the sand in his eyes and hair. A few seconds after him, Iori and Ken followed.   
  
A dark shadow sailed over them. A few seconds later, the six figures poked their heads out, finally able to breath.   
  
Ken stared at "himself" in shock as he flew over. 'I never thought I'd have to fight myself,' he thought to himself. Mentally, he wondered if he could. And if he really could re-open the digital gates in this world.   
  
Wormmon sensed how he was feeling and looked towards his partner with worried eyes. "Don't worry Ken-chan," the little green digimon whispered. "You can do it."   
  
He didn't speak as he watched the Airdramon sail past, the DigiKaiser in all his glory. Arrogant. Proud. Ken shut his eyes and sighed, trying not to think about it.   
  
***   
  
Riding on Nefertimon, Hikari's D-terminal beeped. She pulled it out and glanced at the hurried message from Daisuke.   
  
D.K. showed up. Too many. Got reinforcements? Send! -D.   
  
It was the shortest message Hikari had ever received. She supposed that D.K. meant Digi-Kaiser. Too many meant they were out numbered. The rest was a blatant cry for help.   
  
"Wizarmon!" Hikari shouted to the wizard flying behind her. "We're gonna need reinforcements. The Kaiser! He showed up!"   
  
"On it!" Wizarmon shouted. "I'll meet you there."   
  
Hikari nodded and turned to her ride. "We need to hurry, Nefertimon," she shouted to her partner. Understanding, the winged digimon nodded and began to fly faster.   
  
***   
  
"Excellent. We're making excellent progress," Ken commented, pleased. The digimon slaves surrounding him stared in fear. The Kaiser was rarely in a good mood. They weren't stupid enough to think it would last.   
  
"Well? What are you standing around for? Get to work!" The indigo haired boy's demeanor immediately changed for the worse. His eyes narrowed behind his tinted visor, and his voice grew hoarser as he shouted out commands. "We're behind schedule," he reminded them. "There's nothing here yet and I want this thing completed soon!"   
  
Daisuke could only stare. V-mon, next to him, had eyes as wide as saucers. "I think he's loosing it," the blue dragon commented, and Daisuke nodded.   
  
"Hasn't he lost it already?" Iori asked.   
  
Daisuke sat down, turning away from their enemy. "No. I think he's lost it even more than Ken ever did." He glanced towards their newest ally, who was at the moment attempting to gain control of himself.   
  
"Ken-chan? Are you okay?" Wormmon was asking.   
  
"I'm okay," Ken whispered, but his hands were shaking. He looked at Daisuke with fear in his eyes. "I'm not sure I can do this," he said in the quietest voice Daisuke had ever heard anyone use.   
  
Daisuke knelt in front of the boy he was determined to call friend. "Ken, listen to me," he commanded. When the boy slowly turned pain filled eyes to him, he continued.   
  
"Ken, that's not you anymore. I know that. You know that. Even Iori knows that." He gestured to the smaller boy behind him. Iori had doubt in his eyes, but he knew that, in this mission, Ken would be important and now was not the time to let his own personal doubts get in the way.   
  
Ken sniffled slightly, trying not to cry. He nodded.   
  
"I've got a plan. And I think it'll work." Daisuke had that grin on his face and that look in his eyes that told both Iori and Ken that he was confident. He turned serious once more. "But I'll need you to pull it off, okay?"   
  
Ken looked down at the sandy ground. "I - I don't know Daisuke. I don't know if I can do it," he whispered, his voice hoarse from holding back tears.   
  
"Sure you can. I know you can," Daisuke encouraged. "Please, Ken. Just try, at least? Promise me you'll try?"   
  
Ken sighed slightly and sniffed again. He wiped his hand against his still-dry eyes. "I'll try," he whispered softly.   
  
"Good," Daisuke grinned. "Here's the plan."   
  
***   
  
Hikari spotted the work site from a far distance off. She could also see Daisuke, Iori, and Ken near it. "Nefertimon, we can't get in there without being seen," she told her partner.   
  
"Should we wait for backup?" the other questioned.   
  
"I think so," Hikari replied. "We can't get them out of there without a fight, and we can't fight without the back up. We don't have any choice but to wait."   
  
"Um - do you want to tell Daisuke that?" Nefertimon asked.   
  
"What?" Hikari asked. She peered towards the ground. Daisuke had stood up and was making his way towards the DigiKaiser and the other digimon. "Whatis he doing?"   
  
"Looks like he has a plan," Nefertimon commented.   
  
Her partner heaved a sigh. "I hope it's a good plan."   
  
***   
  
"Hey! Cape Boy!"   
  
Daisuke almost winced as he saw his former (and current) opponent whirl around in shock and anger.'Déjà vu,' he though to himself.   
  
"You!" the DigiKaiser stammered. "What are you doing - how did you get here?"   
  
Daisuke shrugged nonchalantly. "That's for me to know and you to find out, Cape Boy. But I got a question for you."   
  
The aforementioned Cape Boy rolled his eyes. "And why should I answer you?"   
  
Daisuke thought for a brief moment. "I dunno. 'Cause it's a good question?"   
  
"I'll be the judge of that."   
  
"Okay. Well, my question is, what have you done to Ken?"   
  
The DigiKaiser showed obvious anger. "That name is meaningless here."   
  
"Yeah, so I figured. I know. You don't want to be called that." Daisuke brushed aside the speech he'd heard a hundred times over. "So my question is, what did you do to him?"   
  
"What are you talking about?"   
  
Daisuke waved his left hand behind his back in a signal. "Ya see, I used to see this really cool guy on television all the time. His name was Ken Ichijouji. But you don't want to be him anymore. He's gone. My question is, what did you do to him?"   
  
The DigiKaiser was angrier than he had ever recalled being before. "He doesn't exist anymore," he shouted. His pupils were getting smaller, as they always did when he got angry, and his veins began to bulge slightly. "I am the Digimon Kaiser. Ken Ichijouji doesn't exist anymore."   
  
"Oh yeah?" another voice questioned. It sounded eerily like the first. When the DigiKaiser turned around, he saw why. It was the same voice.   
  
"Who? What?" he stammered. There, only a few feet behind him, was a boy who looked exactly like he did. Well, like he did when he was in the real world.   
  
"So if I don't exist anymore, then why am I here?" the second Ken Ichijouji asked. He had a slight self-satisfied smirk on his face that his double recognized immediately. It was his self-satisfied smirk. Exactly.   
  
The DigiKaiser walked towards himself. He reached out and touched himself on the arm. "You- you're real!" he gasped.   
  
Ken Ichijouji, non DigiKaiser, rolled his eyes. "Of course I am," he replied. "What did you think?"   
  
It was then that the Digimon Kaiser spotted a strange green animal on his double's shoulder. "What is that?"   
  
Ken reached up and carefully took his digimon from his shoulder. "This is Wormmon," he replied. His eyes became sad and happy at the same time as he gazed at his digimon. "He died for me," he told his double.   
  
The Kaiser became more confused. "What?"   
  
Ken explained. "I was like you, once," he explained. "Angry. Sad. And then I realized my mistake. Wormmon died to save me." He smiled sadly at his double. "Don't you have a Wormmon?" he asked, as though the idea had just occurred to him.   
  
The Kaiser shook his head. "No," he replied. "I don't. I think - I think I did once, though."   
  
Ken nodded. "What happened to him?" he prompted.   
  
The Kaiser sank to his knees, suddenly in the midst of a massive headache. "I - I don't know," he stammered. "I - I think - I think he died, too."   
  
Ken knelt beside himself. "I know this is hard," he said sympathetically. "But how did he die?"   
  
"I - I don't remember." Tears were flowing from his eyes as a result of the pain. "I think - I think it was my fault, though."   
  
Ken frowned. He glanced at Wormmon, still in his arms. "Your fault?" He was slightly confused.   
  
The other Ken nodded. "Wormmon - he," he was unable to hold the tears in. He began to sob, almost uncontrollably. In a flash, his outer clothes disappeared, and his hair flattened down. He looked the same as the other Ken kneeling next to him. The dark rings on the Monochromon and the other digimon nearby disappeared, leaving the to scatter. "He was real, wasn't he?" he asked himself.   
  
Ken nodded soberly. "It took me a while to figure that out, too," he assured his double. "But the digimon are real."   
  
"Real." He sniffed, looking at himself. "And I hurt them, didn't I?"   
  
Another confirming nod. "I know," he assured him. "I went through this to. After Osamu -."   
  
"Osamu? What about Osamu?"   
  
Ken looked at himself in surprise. "In - my world - Osamu - was killed. I blamed myself."   
  
"Just like I blamed myself for Wormmon," the other Ken stated. Both Kens were teary-eyed for several moments. Then both began to sob again. Instinctively, each reached out for the other, and a few minutes later, both were holding each other and sobbing in each others arms.   
  
Hikari and Nefertimon landed a few feet away, next to Daisuke. "I get the feeling I've seen this before," Tailmon commented as she de-evolved.   
  
"Hikari-chan!" Daisuke realized. "You're okay!" He stepped forward, and, forgetting about everything for the moment except the emotions of the situation, hugged her.   
  
Hikari was surprised for a moment, but then grinned and hugged him back. "Yes, Daisuke," she replied with a smile. "I'm okay."   
  
***   
  
Both Ken and Ken sat beside the massive computer in what had once been the Digimon Kaiser's base. It would be destroyed as soon as possible, but first they had a few things to do.   
  
For a few moments, the doubles worked in silence, and then they began to talk excitedly over their shared lives, their shared experiences, and what they were doing on the computer.   
  
A few minutes after the excited conversation began, one of the numerous screens activated, and Koushiro's surprised face appeared.   
  
He stared blankly at the two Kens for a moment and then stammered. "Uh, Ken, er, Ken, um, I," he stammered for a few moments while both Kens laughed.   
  
Hikari stepped forward. "Don't worry Koushiro, the digital world is saved," she explained, as Ken and Ken left the room.   
  
Daisuke stood next to her. "Yeah, Ken helped save the day. And himself."   
  
Koushiro looked confused for a moment, and then nodded. "I think we're going to need a bit more explanation," he informed them.   
  
Hikari nodded. "Right, I figured you would. And Ken - your Ken - will explain it all when he gets home." She glanced behind her. "As soon as he finishes up a few things, that is."   
  
"And there'll be a lot of cleaning up to do, I'll bet," Iori stated, stepping forward. "But in the meantime, the digital gates are re-opened. So everyone can help."   
  
"And you three?" Koushiro asked.   
  
"Four," Daisuke corrected.   
  
"We'll be heading back to our world, Koushiro," Hikari replied. "I don't think it'll be safe if Daisuke meets himself."   
  
"That reminds me - ," Koushiro spoke up. "Did you ever find out what happened to our Hikari?"   
  
Hikari shook her head. "I'm sorry Koushiro. I haven't seen anything. I'll be sure to ask your Ken again, but I think he'll give you the same response. I'm sorry. Tell my brother I'm sorry I couldn't see him. I think it would be best."   
  
"I agree," Koushiro nodded. "Send him my way when he gets back to the real world, okay?"   
  
"Will do, Koushiro," Daisuke replied as the screen closed.   
  
He looked towards Hikari and Tailmon. "So, ready to go home?"   
  
End 

A/n: An epilogue is coming soon, don't worry! 


	11. Epilogue: When All Is Said And Done...

A Stranger Digiworld

A Stranger Digiworld

Epilogue: When All Is Said And Done…

Wizarmon stood near the location of the newest gate back to the real world. It was decided that this world's Ken would be sent back to his real world first,and then they would all return to their reality. 

Tailmon hugged her friend with sadness in her eyes. "It was good to see you again, Wizarmon," she told him. "Even if you're not the same Wizarmon." 

The wizard nodded tearfully as well. "It was good to see you as well," he told his friend. "I hope that one day we will meet again." 

Ken had a similarly tearful good-bye with himself. Neither spoke, they both knew what the other was thinking, and so they just hugged, grateful that they had been able to help each other with their own problems. After all, no one really understands you the way that you yourself does, so who better to help? 

The blue-haired boy held Wormmon in his arms and waved to himself as he disappeared through the digital gate. When he had dissolved into digital data, he sighed and sat down on the ground.

"I guess we should be getting home now, huh?" Daisuke questioned. 

The somber boy nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "I'll just need to reconfigure the gate. It'll only take a minute." 

"How do you do that?" Iori wondered. 

"I'll have to use the computer in the base," he explained. He stood up and began to walk back towards the now-empty base. 

***

Meanwhile, Yagami Taichi was still pacing nervously about his bedroom. Koushiro glanced at the digital clock on the computer. Daisuke, Iori, and Ken had been gone for nearly two hours. If they didn't return home soon, Hikari's mother would notice that she had disappeared. 

"Mom will be home any minute now," Taichi grumbled as he paced. Takeru and Miyako had long ago given up trying to calm him down. Koushiro recalled the times that Hikari had been sick while they were in the digital world. Taichi had been so worried he had swung a few punches at Koushiro. He certainly hoped that it didn't come to swinging fists this time around. 

"Taichi! Hikari!" a female voice called from the hall. "I'm home, kids!" 

Taichi turned pale. Takeru placed an arm on his friend's shoulder. "It's okay. Go stall her as long as you can. We'll see what we can do." 

With a nod and a deep breath, the wild-haired boy left the room. No sooner had he shut the door when there was a flash of light behind him. 

Koushiro backed out of the way, seeing what was about to occur. A few moments later, Hikari, Daisuke, Ken, Iori, and their respective digimon tumbled out of the computer and landed where the young computer whiz had been sitting only just before. 

"Hikari!-chan!" Miyako, Takeru, and Koushiro cheered in unison. 

"Oh, sure, nobody welcome us back," Daisuke muttered under his breath. "Never mind that it was me who came up with the great plan." 

"Daisuke, we were only gone for a few hours," Iori reminded him. "Hikari-chan was missing for a whole day." 

Daisuke didn't respond. 

"Hikari-chan, you'd better go save your brother. He's been trying to stall your mother for a few minutes. You'd better go out there," Koushiro told her. 

"Oh dear," Hikari realized. Quickly, she dashed out of the room. 

"So tell us, what happened?" Miyako demanded. 

"Well, the day was all saved, thanks to my plan," Daisuke replied with a grin.   
Koushiro and Miyako both raised skeptical eyebrows. 

"It's true," Iori reluctantly admitted. "Instead of launching a fight we would loose, Daisuke had Ken confront his double, and the result caused the Kaiser to reform." 

The other three stared in surprise. 

"That was a pretty good idea," Takeru admitted. Patamon, still sitting on his head, nodded. 

"Of course it was a good idea," Chibimon boasted on behalf of his partner. "Daisuke always thinks of great plans." 

"Well, I don't know about always," Miyako grumbled under her breath. 

***

"Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Yagami, but I really need to be getting home now," Koushiro apologized with a polite smile and bow. 

"My mother would be disappointed if I missed her cooking. I'm late already," Iori agreed, bowing as well before departing after Koushiro. 

"I need to be home, too," Ken stated. His eyes had a far-off look in them. He planned to spend the night alone with only Wormmon, doing some deep thinking. 

"I promised to help my parents in the store tonight," Miyako apologized. "Thanks for the offer, though." 

"Mom will be really mad if I don't get home really soon," Takeru agreed. "Maybe another time." 

Daisuke was last. He didn't really have to be home, but he had a feeling he would be grounded if he wasn't on time. "I've got to be home soon," he said with great reluctance. He wouldn't have minded eating dinner with the Yagami family, even if he had heard that Mrs. Yagami cooked some strange health foods. 

"Daisuke, do you mind if I walk you downstairs?" Hikari spoke up just as he was about to exit.

"Uh, sure Hikari," Daisuke replied. Hikari stepped out of the door behind him and followed him to the elevator. "What's the matter?" 

"Nothing," she replied with a shrug.

"I can find my way downstairs on my own, you know," he reminded her. 

"I know," she answered. The elevator arrived, and they entered. "I just wanted to talk to you." 

"What about?" 

They arrived on the bottom floor and the door opened. Both exited. "I guess I just wanted to say thank you," she replied. 

He blinked. "For?" 

"Saving me. I mean, it was your great idea that helped save that digital world. I wouldn't have been able to defeat the Kaiser on my own, even with reinforcements."

Daisuke shrugged nonchalantly, though secretly pleased his talent was being recognized. "It was Ken that did all the work," he admitted. 

"I know," she replied. They had arrived at the exit of the building. "I guess I'd better get back upstairs." 

"Probably. I'll see you tomorrow in school, right?" 

"Definitely." Hikari grinned. He turned to leave. "Daisuke?"

He turned around. "Yeah?" 

"Thanks again." Hikari kissed him on the cheek and watched with some amusement as he turned bright red. 

"No – problem," he replied. Before he could move another inch, she had disappeared back into the elevator, the sound of her giggles still echoing in his head. 

***

Just In Case anyone was wondering, I don't own Digimon. Any of them. Except for a few lame drawings. ^_^


End file.
